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Film director Haifaa al-Mansour, Sharp Objects, Brooklands Museum, Holiday reads

Arts news, interviews and reviews. Saudi Arabia's first female director Haifa al-Mansour on creating a biopic about author Mary Shelley.

When Haifaa Al Mansour released Wadja in 2012 she became Saudi Arabia's first female director of a feature film. She has now directed her first English-language film - a biopic about Mary Shelley. Al Mansour talks why she wanted to make a film set in 19th-century England about the teenage creator of Frankenstein and how much film-making has changed in Saudi Arabia since her debut film six years ago.

Based on the debut novel of Gillian Flynn (Gone Girl), Sharp Objects is a new HBO drama series starring Oscar nominee Amy Adams as a crime reporter forced to confront her own demons, directed by Jean-Marc Vallee (Big Little Lies). Sophie Wilkinson reviews.

Ahead of the announcement of the winner of the £100,000 Art Fund Museum of the Year Prize 2018, we are reporting from each of the five shortlisted museums. Today we hear from Brooklands Museum in Surrey, home of the world's first motor racing circuit. The museum's new exhibition spaces - the Aircraft Factory and Flight Shed - highlight the crucial role Brooklands has played in aviation, from Concorde to the Hawker Hurricane.

We're getting in the mood for holiday reads. Over the next few weeks we'll be offering inspiration on which books to cram into your suitcase. Today Sarah Ditum of the New Statesman joins us to recommend books for travellers destined for Italy, Germany and France.

Presenter: John Wilson
Producer: Kate Bullivan.

Available now

30 minutes

Chapters

  • Haifaa al-Mansour

    Duration: 08:43

  • Sharp Objects

    Duration: 04:46

  • Brooklands

    Duration: 07:24

  • Holiday Reads

    Duration: 07:22

Haifaa al-Mansour

Haifaa al-Mansour
Elle Fanning as Mary Shelley
Photo credit: Hanway Films

Mary Shelley is in cinemas from
Fri 6 July, cert 12A

Main image: Haifaa al-Mansour
Photo credit: Getty Images

Front Row Holiday reads

Tonight’s picks by Sarah Ditum of the New Statesman

Germany
All the Lights by Clemens Meyer trans. Katy Derbyshire
Alone in Berlin by Hans Fallada trans. Michael Hofmann 

France
Bonjour Tristesse by Françoise Sagan trans. Heather Lloyd
Lullaby by Leila Slimani trans. Sam Taylor

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Ties by Domenico Starnone trans. Jhumpa Lahiri
Malacqua by Nicola Pugliese trans. Shaun Whiteside
The Wandering Vine (France and Italy) by Nina Caplan

Brooklands - Museum of the Year Finalist

Brooklands - Museum of the Year Finalist
, Weybridge

Brooklands Museum is an Finalist


Credits

Role Contributor
Presenter John Wilson
Interviewed Guest Haifaa al-Mansour
Interviewed Guest Sophie Wilkinson
Interviewed Guest Sarah Ditum
Producer Kate Bullivant

Broadcast

  • Tue 3 Jul 2018 19:15

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