Singapore films Wonderland, A Year Of No Significance win at China’s Golden Rooster Awards

Arts & Culture, Film & TV

Two Singaporean films have shone at the Golden Rooster Awards in China.
Chai Yee Wei’s Wonderland and Kelvin Tong’s A Year Of No Significance were named “Most Anticipated Chinese-Language Films” at the 37th edition of the event.
The awards were part of the prestigious China Golden Rooster and Hundred Flowers Film Festival held in Xiamen, Fujian, from Nov 13 to 16.

The film-makers and local actor Peter Yu, who starred in both films, attended the ceremony on Nov 15.
The other winner in this category was the Malaysian sports film Gold, starring Malaysian actor Jack Tan and directed by Malaysian film-maker Adrian Teh.
Both Wonderland and A Year Of No Significance are period films set in Singapore.

Wonderland, which is set in the 1980s, revolves around a lonely and illiterate man (Mark Lee), who asks his neighbour (Yu) to help him pen letters to his daughter (Xenia Tan) studying in America. Together, the men must come to terms with the secrets they hold about themselves and their families.

A Year Of No Significance follows the story of a Chinese-educated architect (Yu) facing social changes in 1979.
“It was an honour to be among the best in Chinese cinema receiving this award,” Chai said in a press statement. “Totally unexpected and so grateful that the themes in Wonderland resonated with the audience at the festival.”

Egyptian film ‘El Hawa Sultan’ grosses LE26.5 million in just 11 days

Arts & Culture, Film & TV

The Egyptian romantic film “El Hawa Sultan,” starring Mena Shalaby and Ahmed Dawoud, topped the box office on Saturday, grossing nearly LE4 million and LE28 thousand.This brings the total earnings of the film to LE26 million and LE587 thousand after 11 days of screening, surpassing 10 other films currently competing in theaters.The movie stars Menna Shalaby, Ahmed Dawood, Ahmed Khaled Saleh, Sawsan Badr, and Jihan al-Chamacherry.It is written and directed by Heba Youssef, and produced by Sea Cinema Company for Ahmed Fahmy and Hany Naguib.The film plot centers around the relationships and love between a group of friends.“El Hawa Sultan” marks the second collaboration between Dawoud and Shalaby, following their 2016 film “Al Ma’ wal Khodra wal Wajh El Hassan” (Brooks, Meadows and Lovely Faces).

MIS signs SAR 66.8M contract with Ministry of Tourism

Travel

Al Moammar Information Systems Co. (MIS) signed a contract with the Ministry of Tourism to supply Microsoft products and services for a total value of SAR 66.78 million, inclusive of VAT.In a statement to Tadawul, the company said the contract spans three calendar years, with the positive financial impact anticipated to begin in the first quarter of 2025.The company further clarified that the contract was received and finalized after the close of the business day on Nov. 14.There are no related parties to the agreement, the statement added.

US agriculture exporters fear trade war 2.0 will ‘kill’ China business

Business News

SHANGHAI – Mr Manuel Garibay travelled from the American north-west to Shanghai in early November, hoping to sell dried cherries to Chinese consumers.
But even in an exhibition hall filled with prospective buyers at China’s largest import expo, he worried that the lucrative market – which makes up a fifth of his company’s profits – might soon grow harder to reach.
As the spectre of a renewed trade war looms under a second Donald Trump presidency, the sales manager at Royal Ridge Fruits, a Washington state cherry grower, expects Beijing to retaliate with levies of its own “to agriculture, and to us”. 

“I think if tariffs are imposed, it could potentially kill all our Chinese business,” he told The Straits Times on Nov 6, shortly before Trump won the US presidential election.
The American agri-food industry is bracing for a fresh round of economic pain, should he up the ante in a trade war that has already hit it hard.
Heavily exposed to the Chinese market and seen to form part of Trump’s support base, the farm sector has been a handy target for Beijing to retaliate against US tariffs.

When Trump slapped levies of up to 25 per cent on a range of Chinese goods in 2018, China responded with tit-for-tat duties on US products including soya beans, pork and fruit.

American farmers lost more than US$27 billion (S$36 billion) in exports from mid-2018 to 2019 – mostly from China, the US agriculture department estimated.
A de-escalatory deal known as the Phase One agreement was later inked in 2020 during the Trump administration, and Beijing granted some tariff waivers to support farm purchases.
This time, the President-elect has said that he would impose taxes of 60 per cent or more on Chinese imports.

“US soya beans and corn are prime targets for tariffs,” wrote economists from the American Soybean Association and National Corn Growers Association in October. 
A study commissioned by both associations and released that month projected that their farmers could lose as much as US$7.3 billion combined in annual production value over the next decade, if China responds with 60 per cent tariffs.
“The soya beans, the beef, the chicken – they’re going to hurt,” said American whiskey exporter Daniel Benefield of Rad Beverage International, on the sidelines of the Shanghai import fair.
He believes that his industry will be spared as Chinese imports of American spirits are low, but that Beijing would “hit” agriculture given the large volumes traded.
China is the US’ largest overseas market for agricultural products. The sector accounted for a fifth of total US exports of goods to China in 2023.  

2 Tourism Villages in Indonesia Receive Best Tourism Villages 2024 Award from UN Tourism

Travel

SEAToday.com, Jakarta – Two tourist villages in Indonesia, Jatiluwih Tourism Village (Bali) and Wukirsari Tourism Village (Special Region of Yogyakarta) won the “Best Tourism Villages 2024” award from the United Nations World Tourism Organization, UN Tourism. The fourth edition of the award was held in Cartagena de Indias, Colombia, Thursday, November 14, 2024.
Tourism Minister Widiyanti Putri Wardhana welcomed the award from the UN Tourism to two Indonesian tourist villages that successfully became part of the 55 Best Tourism Villages by UN Tourism 2024.
The tourism village development program has become the Ministry of Tourism’s flagship program in recent years. This is also in line with the vision of village development as stated in the national priorities of the Asta Cita of the Red and White Cabinet.
“I am very proud and optimistic that this award can be an inspiration for other tourist villages in Indonesia to continue to optimize the potential of natural wealth, cultural heritage, and empowerment of the village community towards more inclusive and sustainable tourism,” said Menpar Widiyanti in her statement in Jakarta, Saturday, November 16, 2024.
Best Tourism Villages is held to capture pilot villages that successfully develop tourism, by empowering local communities, and preserving local traditions and heritage.
Based on data, by 2024, 245 villages have become members of the Best Tourism Villages Network, which is expected to be part of the largest global tourist village network.
The success of Nglanggeran Village in 2021, Penglipuran Village in 2023, as well as Jatiluwih Tourism Village, and Wukirsari Tourism Village in 2024 to be awarded as Best Tourism Villages is a form of international recognition of the quality of tourist villages in Indonesia.
“Of course, we cannot be complacent about this achievement. We at the Ministry of Tourism will continue to strive to strengthen the ecosystem of tourist villages in the country through collective commitment for the advancement of Indonesian tourism,” said Widiyanti.
Jatiluwih Tourism Village, Bali and Wukirsari Tourism Village, Yogyakarta Special Region were successfully selected from around 260 candidates from more than 60 UN Tourism member countries.
Nominees from Indonesia were selected from tourist villages that were certified as sustainable in the 2019-2024 period. This is because the certification assessment indicators represent the nine evaluation areas of Best Tourism Villages. For tourist villages that have not been included as Best Tourism Villages, UN Tourism presents an assistance program in the form of an upgrade program for 20 selected tourist villages.

Queer Books For Your Christmas Reading List

Arts & Culture, Books

With Christmas fast approaching it’s the perfect time to start thinking about your next read to enjoy during some down time in the holidays and these queer books are the perfect place to start.
And at this time of the year there are no shortage of options.
So if you enjoy a good queer story, we’ve picked some of the latest stories you might not have heard of just yet.
The Sweetness Between Us: Sarah Winifred Searle
Sarah Searle had a fantastic year in 2023, her book The Greatest Thing picked up the top prize for Young Adult Literature at the Prime Minister’s Literary Awards . The story of queer high school student Winifred received plenty of praise and was also shortlisted as the CBCA Book of the Year. In 2024 Sarah follows up with The Sweetness Between Us, described as Heartstopper meets vampires this addictive graphic novel offers a unique perspective in the world of queer young adult literature.
Image: Allen & Unwin
Avast! Pirate Stories from Transgender Authors
After something a little different? Pirate Stories From Transgender Authors is a unique anthology with a twist. Part short stories, part poetry and prose and part graphic novel every story is just that little bit different. Tackling the theme of pirates each of these seven transgender authors write about everything from friends bootlegging CD’s to chasing UFO’s and punk renegades. These bite sized stories will have you hooked.
Image: Fremantle Press
Girl Crushed: Maggie Horne
Girl Crushed is another queer YA story, this one follows the story of Noah as she navigates high school in middle America. Returning from summer camp Noah faces the challenges of understanding her identity has her friends around her start to develop interest in boys. As she begins to feel left out among her peer group Noah has to make plans about just what she’s prepared to do to fit in with her friends.

Image: Affirm Press