Shahnoza Ergasheva — tafs uz coverage of culture. News, key facts and context in English, Uzbek and Russian.
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Indian rappers have recorded the 'Climate Emergency Mixtape' — according to the organizers, the country's first multilingual rap album about the climate crisis. The record includes six tracks in different Indian languages, devoted to water scarcity, floods, and the impact of climate change on vulnerable communities.
Shahnoza ErgashevaAn overview of the week's global cultural agenda: Art Basel Paris at the Grand Palais with more than 200 galleries from 41 countries, a Tiffany exhibition at the Metropolitan Museum, Design Week Lagos, the finale of the Rome Film Festival, Metallica concerts at Sphere, a jazz festival in Melbourne and an anniversary production of 'My Fair Lady' in Sydney.
Shahnoza ErgashevaAt a gastronomic festival in the French Alps, professional chefs put on boxing gloves and had 20 minutes to verbally teach amateurs how to cook a soufflé omelette. Patricia Mathon won, admitting that she rarely cooks.
Shahnoza ErgashevaKylie Jenner walked the runway of the annual Victoria's Secret show for the first time in the famous $50 million Fantasy Bra made of 18-karat gold and 4,410 diamonds. The choice drew a mixed reaction: some fans supported her, while others criticized the brand for not giving the honor to a veteran supermodel.
Shahnoza ErgashevaThe character Apu Nahasapeemapetilon has appeared again in 'The Simpsons' in the episode The Revengening, speaking for the first time since 2017. He is voiced by Indian-born actor Sunil Malhotra, who replaced Hank Azaria, who left the role in 2020 amid criticism of the stereotypical portrayal.
Shahnoza ErgashevaRobert Eggers, honorary guest of the Lumière Festival in Lyon, presented a worldwide exclusive — the first scenes of his werewolf horror 'Werwulf' — and spoke about silent cinema, working with language, night shoots, and why he will not make comic book films.
Shahnoza ErgashevaAt the Frieze Masters fair in London, antiques dealer Rupert Wace suggested that a bronze statuette of the Egyptian god Ptah, about 2,700 years old, may have inspired Cedric Gibbons, who designed the 'Oscar' in 1928. The figure belonged to William Randolph Hearst, a friend of Gibbons. There is no proof — Wace himself calls the version a conjecture. The statuette was sold on the first day of the fair for an undisclosed sum.
Shahnoza ErgashevaYoo Yeong-gwang's debut novel 'The Rainfall Market' was rejected by publishers for ten years, but it has been published in more than 20 countries and made the Der Spiegel bestseller list. The author wrote the book in a phone notes app while working as a food delivery courier and in a call center. The novel has become part of the growing K-comfort fiction genre.
Shahnoza ErgashevaLiam Gallagher said the Irish band Fontaines D.C. are 'not good enough' and 'have no hits' to open the Oasis Live ’27 tour shows. Euronews Culture published a column criticising this statement, pointing to the history of the conflict and the high praise for Fontaines D.C.'s new album 'Dopamine Chamber'.
Shahnoza ErgashevaTo mark the anniversary of actress Maryam Yakubova's birth, Gazeta.uz has prepared a quiz on Uzbek films featuring her. Yakubova was born on 19 October 1909 in Bukhara, appeared in films such as 'Mahalla da-da gap', 'The Delightful Dreamer' and 'Fiery Roads', and died on 2 February 1987.
Shahnoza ErgashevaSelena Gomez said on Instagram that nicotine vaping has affected her voice. She revealed she recently quit nicotine and urged others not to start. The singer had previously linked voice changes to lupus, which she has had since 2015.
Shahnoza ErgashevaThe outlet Kun.uz published a piece about four commanders of antiquity who changed the course of history. In the available portion of the article, it tells about Themistocles, who defeated the Persians at the Battle of Salamis, the Spartan Brasidas, who took Amphipolis without a siege, and Philip II, who reformed the Macedonian army.
Shahnoza ErgashevaEuronews has gathered the main cultural events of the week: the premiere of the film 'Clayface' set in the DC universe, the 'Becoming America' exhibition in London and Connie Mayer's solo show in Munich, the second season of the series 'The Terminal List' on Prime Video, as well as new albums by John Legend and Michael Kiwanuka.
Shahnoza ErgashevaThe winners of the annual underwater photography competition have been announced. First place went to Nur Tucker's shot 'Predatory Flock in the Ocean' about seabirds chasing fish near fishing nets. Second place went to Linda Ness's work 'Shark Gateway', taken off the coast of South Africa during the annual sardine migration, and third place to Luke Roomer's shot 'Mandarin Fish Mating Dance', taken in December 2025 in the Lembeh Strait.
Shahnoza ErgashevaIn the new BBC documentary 'Unseen: The Aberfan Portraits', residents of the Welsh village of Aberfan spoke about portraits of the children killed in the 1966 disaster, which artist William Richardson created from school photographs and parents' descriptions. Around 100 paintings were kept in families' homes for decades and helped them cope with grief. Now the question of the portraits' future arises: some are carefully passed on to the next generations, while others were buried together with the mother of a family.
Shahnoza ErgashevaParamount’s action film “Street Fighter” grossed $31 million in its opening weekend in North America. A24’s documentary “You Can See Everything” about fraudster Elizabeth Holmes grossed $15 million on just 855 screens — the second-best opening for a documentary in history after “Fahrenheit 9/11.”
Shahnoza ErgashevaThe documentary about Theranos founder Elizabeth Holmes grossed $15 million in its first weekend — the second-best result in documentary history. The film featuring Nathan Fielder is playing in only 855 theaters, but drew about 2,000 sold-out screenings and holds 99% on Rotten Tomatoes and Metacritic.
Shahnoza ErgashevaA new wave of films and documentary projects about Elon Musk, Mark Zuckerberg, Sam Altman and Elizabeth Holmes reflects society's disillusionment with Silicon Valley leaders. Film critics link the trend to anxieties over the concentration of power and the influence of tech giants on US politics.
Shahnoza Ergasheva
