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Making a feature film is a notoriously long process. Once the script has been written, productions may spend several years organizing funding before the film is actually shot, and then edited. With specific restrictions changing from week to week, references to the world's pandemic lifestyle in a film could very well feel outdated by the time the work is completed and distributed. It's therefore unsurprising that most films selected for the Berlin International Film Festival are set in a universe that's oblivious to the ongoing pandemic. There are nevertheless a few films that reflect the past year's social habits. 'Loony porn' in times of COVID Bad Luck Banging or Loony Porn , a competition entry by Silver Bear-winning Romanian director Radu Jude , fulfills the promises of its title right with its opening scene: a homemade porn video. In the following scene, the woman from the sex tape is at a market. Just like everyone else, she is wearing a mask. As she wanders … [Read more...] about Pandemic cinema: How Berlinale films reflect COVID

Chancellor Rishi Sunak has set out an extra £65bn in COVID support for employees and businesses - but announced a freeze on income tax thresholds and a rise in corporation tax to help pay back the UK's rising debts. In his budget speech, Mr Sunak set out a three-part plan to "protect jobs and livelihoods of the British people". But he warned that "corrective action" would be needed to tackle the UK's rising debt, as he set out how the government was now committed to spending £407bn on coronavirus support with borrowing at levels last seen in the 1940s. Follow the budget live Budget 2021: All the key points Among his key measures, the chancellor announced: Advertisement an extension to the furlough scheme until the end of September and more support for the self-employed the £20-a-week uplift in Universal Credit will continue for another six months the rate of corporation tax will rise to 25% in 2023, but with protections for … [Read more...] about Budget 2021: Rise in corporation tax and freeze on thresholds as Rishi Sunak tries to recover COVID debt

Germany on Wednesday took a step towards forcing companies to take responsibility for any labor or environmental abuses in their global supply chain. A new law (Lieferkettengesetz in German) allows for hefty fines starting at several hundred thousand euros if their contractors abroad are found to breach human rights or environmental rules. The fines go up to two percent of the company's annual revenues if they exceed 400 million euros ($484 million). The companies are held responsible for every step of the way: from the raw materials to the finished product. "This law protects workers from exploitation across sprawling supply chains and protects human rights across the world," Finance Minister Olaf Scholz said on Wednesday, adding "In future, it will be clear that 'Made in Germany' also means respect for human rights." The SPD-run development and labor ministries initially wanted the law to also target smaller companies, but backed down in the face of strong opposition from the … [Read more...] about Germany to implement supply chain law against exploitation