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Jean-Pierre Frésafond

Biography

Jean-Pierre Frésafond, born in 1936 in Montfavet, Vaucluse, discovered mountaineering after returning from the Algerian War. He began his mountaineering career at the age of 25, after leaving the family farm to become an industrial sales representative. From his earliest years, he distinguished himself on major routes such as the Walker Spur in the Grandes Jorasses and the Tre Cime di Lavaredo in the Dolomites. In 1967, he joined the Groupe de Haute Montagne (GHM), which opened the doors to international expeditions: he climbed in the Iranian Caucasus, the Hindu Kush, and the Andes, and in 1972 participated in an expedition to the Gurja Himal in Nepal. He made history in French mountaineering in 1975 by leading the Lyon expedition that successfully completed the second ascent of Gasherbrum II (8,035 m), the first peak over 8,000 meters for a Lyon team. Despite the death of Bernard Villaret during the expedition, Yannick Seigneur and Marc Batard opened the south ridge and reached the summit under his leadership. Frésafond recounts this adventure in his book Expédition au Gasherbrum 2, Lyon premier 8000 (1977). In 1979, he led a new national expedition to Nanga Parbat, stopping at 7,000 meters on the Mazenod ridge, an experience he would recount in La revanche de l’Himalaya (1980). He became president of the GHM in 1984 and organized an expedition to K2 the following year. He also serves as president of the Lyon branch of the French Alpine Club and sits on the executive committee of the French Mountaineering and Climbing Federation (FFME), spending a decade involved in the governing bodies of French mountaineering. Jean-Pierre Frésafond has written several books, primarily focusing on his high-altitude expeditions and spiritual reflections. Among his best-known works are: Expédition Au Gasherbrum II, Lyon premier 8000 (1966), an account of the landmark expedition to Gasherbrum II, which was both tragic and victorious; and La Revanche Re l’Himalaya (1980), which recounts his experience during the Nanga Parbat expedition. He also published works on more spiritual subjects, notably about the Jesuit Father Teilhard de Chardin, whose association he founded in Lyon and which he chaired until 2015: The Abbot Did Not Have the Right to Speak Like That..., prefaced by Yves Peysson (2000); The Abbot Did Not Have the Right to Speak Like That... Teilhard de Chardin Meets Non-Believers (2007); and Islam Explained to Other Believers, prefaced by Dalil Boubakeur (2015). These titles illustrate his dual commitment as a mountaineer and thinker, combining Himalayan adventures with philosophical, ethical, and humanist questions. Jean-Pierre Frésafond was also recognized for his generosity and his ability to give young mountaineers, such as Marc Batard, a chance to succeed. He died on May 4, 2023 at the age of 87, leaving behind the image of a great expedition organizer, a Himalayan climber, a major figure in Lyon and French mountaineering, and a committed author.
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Erdal Beşikçioğlu

Biography

Erdal Beşikçioğlu (5 January 1970) is a Turkish actor. Erdal Beşikçioğlu attended İzmir Private Turkish College and Mehmet Seyfi Eraltay High School after which he studied at the Hacettepe University State Conservatory. He participated in creative workshops with William Gaskill among others. Upon graduating, he started working in several state theatres and was head of the Diyarbakır State Theatre between 1995 and 1996. He has acted in a number of films such as Eve Giden Yol 1914, Barda, Vali, Hayat Var, Kurtlar Vadisi Filistin and the Golden Bear winning Bal. He now stars as the title character Police commissioner Behzat Ç in the series Behzat Ç. Erdal Beşikçioğlu won the Golden Orange for Best Actor for his role in Behzat Ç.: Seni Kalbime Gömdüm., a spinoff film off the series. He is married to the actress Elvin Beşikçioğlu.
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Samiksha Bhatnagar

Biography

Samiksha Bhatnagar is an Indian actress who was seen in various Hindi serials on Star Plus and Zee TV until 2014 in both supporting as well as lead roles. She did a cameo in Madhur Bhandarkar's Calendar Girls, released in the year 2015, marking her Bollywood debut and in 2017 she acted in the Shreyas Talpade-directed movie Poster Boys, opposite Bobby Deol, which is her first lead role opposite a popular actor. She is an actress, known for Online 24x7, Mauka Ya Dhokha (2023) and Anth the End (2022).
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Genevieve Hannelius

Biography

Genevieve Hannelius is an actress, singer, and entrepreneur. She was most recently seen starring in Netflix's original series "American Vandal." She is perhaps best known for starring on the three-time Emmy-nominated Disney Channel series, Dog with a Blog, which premiered in October 2012, and was watched by 4.5 million viewers. Previously, Genevieve appeared in the critically-acclaimed reboot of the landmark TV mini-series "Roots" which aired in May 2016 on the History Channel. She recently wrapped production on the independent thriller film titled DAY 13 and the independent comedy feature SID IS DEAD from producer Jeremy Garelick.
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Arthur C. Clarke

Biography

Sir Arthur Charles Clarke CBE FRAS (16 December 1917 – 19 March 2008) was an English science-fiction writer, science writer, futurist, inventor, undersea explorer, and television series host. He co-wrote the screenplay for the 1968 film 2001: A Space Odyssey, one of the most influential films of all time. Clarke was a science fiction writer, an avid populariser of space travel, and a futurist of a distinguished ability. He wrote many books and many essays for popular magazines. In 1961, he received the Kalinga Prize, a UNESCO award for popularising science. Clarke's science and science-fiction writings earned him the moniker "Prophet of the Space Age". His science-fiction writings in particular earned him a number of Hugo and Nebula awards, which along with a large readership, made him one of the towering figures of the genre. For many years Clarke, Robert Heinlein, and Isaac Asimov were known as the "Big Three" of science fiction. Clarke was a lifelong proponent of space travel. In 1934, while still a teenager, he joined the British Interplanetary Society. In 1945, he proposed a satellite communication system using geostationary orbits. He was the chairman of the British Interplanetary Society from 1946–1947 and again in 1951–1953. Clarke emigrated to Ceylon (now Sri Lanka) in 1956, to pursue his interest in scuba diving. That year, he discovered the underwater ruins of the ancient Koneswaram Temple in Trincomalee. Clarke augmented his popularity in the 1980s, as the host of television shows such as Arthur C. Clarke's Mysterious World. He lived in Sri Lanka until his death. Clarke was appointed Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) in 1989 "for services to British cultural interests in Sri Lanka". He was knighted in 1998 and was awarded Sri Lanka's highest civil honour, Sri Lankabhimanya, in 2005.
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Uli Hanisch

Biography

Uli Hanisch was born in Nuremberg in 1967. Studying graphic arts in Düsseldorf, he began collaborating in 1989 with Christoph Schlingensief on experimental films such as THE GERMAN CHAINSAW MASSACRE. He designed the movies of Germany's exceptional comedian Helge Schneider. Working in several European art departments for films by Enki Bilal or Peter Greenaway, he also designed German feature films with directors like Leander Haußmann, Oliver Hirschbiegel, and Sönke Wortmann. Since 1996, he collaborated many times with Tom Tykwer. He was awarded in 2007 the Bavarian Film Award, the German Film Award and the Prix d'Exellence of the European Film Academy for best production design of Tykwer's THE PERFUME - The Story of a Murderer, produced by Bernd Eichinger. He worked on Tom Tykwer's THE INTERNATIONAL, produced by Chuck Roven for Columbia Pictures, and other international productions in Europe, like in Budapest 2008 for the medieval horror movie SEASON OF THE WITCH, again produced by Chuck Roven, directed by Dominic Sena. In 2011, Hanisch designed three parts of this epic story on CLOUD ATLAS. For this, he received the German Film Award for Best Design. He was nominated for the Art Director's Guild of Los Angeles Production Design Award. He also collaborated on the Berlin part of the Netflix series SENSE 8, directed by the Wachowskies and Tom Tykwer. In 2012, he went to Belgrade and Budapest again for the American arthouse project IN SECRET, starring Jessica Lange and Elisabeth Olsen, directed by Charlie Stratton and produced by Bill Horberg. In 2016, he started to work for the German TV period series BABYLON BERLIN, produced for SKY and ARD, directed by Tom Tykwer, Henk Handloegten and Achim von Borries. He designed the new permanent backlot street for STUDIO BABELSBERG, the NEUE BERLINER STRASSE. Since 2001, Hanisch has lectured at various film schools in Germany and Europe. He has been a Professor of production design at the INTERNATIONAL FILM SCHOOL (IFS) in Cologne since 2018. Uli Hanisch lives in Berlin. Information above via their homepage.
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Wafda Saifan Lubis

Biography

Wafda Saifan Lubis, or known as Wafda Saifan, is an Indonesian actor and singer. He was born on June 4, 1990 as second child of three children. He is best known of his portrayal as national army named Jaka in the 2018 drama movie Jelita Sejuba: Mencintai Kesatria Negara. Before becoming an actor, he started his career on entertainment industry on 2009 as vocalist. His band often performed at festivals in Jakarta and participated in Piyu Padi's solo album. He made his film debut on Eiffel... I'm In Love 2 (2018) as Fero and later going on to play Jaka in Jelita Sejuba: Mencintai Kesatria Negara (2018). After his breakthrough role on Jelita Sejuba: Mencintai Kesatria Negara, he also took part in HBO Asia's miniseries titled Grisse as Bakda. This miniseries aired on November 4, 2018.
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Fahd Kaikaty

Biography

Kaikati collaborated with the artist Anwar Al-Baba, the owner of the character “Umm Kamel,” and they presented many radio programs in the 1950s, in a famous duet between “Abu Fahmy” and “Umm Kamel,” which became popular in Damascene circles. With the beginning of Syrian television broadcasting in 1960, Al-Kaikati was contracted to present several singing and artistic paintings in the character of “Abu Fahmi,” who now had a clearly defined appearance in addition to her well-known voice on Damascus Radio.
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Kevin Julio

Biography

Kevin Julio is an Indonesian actor, singer, and presenter of mixed Dutch and Sundanese descent. Kevin started his film career in supporting roles in Basah... (2006), Menculik Miyabi (2010), and Bangun Lagi Dong Lupus (2013). His first leading role was in the Kembalinya Nenek Gayung (2013) and Adriana (2013). In 2016 he was cast as villain in the Comedy-superhero Jagoan Instan. In 2013 he started his presenting career by co-hosting along with Olga Syahputra and Raffi Ahmad in the music program Dahsyat. In 2016 he hosted a new talent search or television show formed by FremantleMedia (now Fremantle) with NET., in between Just Duet and Ini Dia! (Indonesian version of Thank God You're Here). As an actor, he earned Bandung Film Festival for Excellence Actor in a Lead Role (Television) in 2014 and has been nominated for SCTV Awards, Indonesia Kids Choice Awards, Infotainment Awards, and Insert Fashion Awards.
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Yannis Economides

Biography

Yannis Economides was born in 1967 in Limassol, Cyprus. In 1987 he moved to Athens to study filmmaking. After several short films and documentaries, in 2003 he wrote and directed his first feature film, MATCHBOX. His second feature SOUL KICKING premiered in The International Critics' Week at Cannes Film Festival in 2006 and his third, KNIFER (2010) won seven awards from the Greek Film Academy, including Best Film, Best Director and Best Screenplay. His fourth feature, STRATOS, premiered in the Competition Programme of the 64th Berlin International Film Festival in 2014. For each one of his four feature films, Economides has been honored with the Greek Film Critics Association Award for Best Greek Feature Film of the Year. In October 2016, his first theatrical production premiered at the New Stage of the National Theatre in Athens, with Economides directing his own play SLEEP, STELLA, SLEEP. He has also performed as a supporting actor in several greek films. In 2017 he had a small but crucial part in Fatih Akin's latest film, "In the Fade".
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