This is bbc news. The headlines Republican Leaders in congress have said there will be an orderly transition of powers should President Trump lose novembers election. He appeared to cast doubts on the transition, on wednesday, again raising questions about the probity of the vote, with so many ballots likely to be cast by mail. The french Prime Minister has warned it is a race against time to avoid a second coronavirus waivers but as the first stop it comes as the country records a Record Number of cases and is mass testing began a second coronavirus wave as bad as the first. And plans to replace the currentjob furlough first. And plans to replace the current job furlough scheme for workers as the uk tries to contain infections. The singer songwriter Michael Kiwanuka has won this Years Mercury prize for his self titled third album. He beat the likes of dua lipa and stormzy, to win the £25,000 prize. The 33 year olds victory was revealed live on the bbcs the one show, after covid 19 restrictions made the annual Award Ceremony impossible. 0ur arts editor Will Gompertz has more. Dont hesitate. It was a case of third time lucky for the 33 year old london born musician, winning the prestigious award for his third album, which had earned him his third nomination. It was a happy ending to a prolonged period of self douibt for the singer songwriter. Ive always been kind of worried about my place in the musical landscape, where i fit in, all those kind of questions. And with this one, i kind of made a decision that i wanted to not really worry about those things and create my own
lane, you know . Shine your light on me. Shine your light over me. The album has a song cycle approach, blending one track into another as the singer explores themes of identity, migration, civil rights, and police shootings. Theyre not protest songs, exactly, but his music definitely has something to say. I want to see black violin players, black conductors, not just not just in the boxes that were used to seeing ourselves in music, you know . We can be anything, you know, these are things we are going to have to struggle with for a long time. And musics a great, i guess, home, for that kind of fight. My hero. My hero, now. Kiwanuka is at times upbeat and funky and at others introspective and soulful. There are hints ofjimi hendrix inspired psychedelic guitar or bill withers sunny optimism. And of bob dylans poetic lyrics. A lot with an album you will love it and then there might be a song that feels a little bit subpar compared to the rest. There is no doubt moment in this album. It is a complete body of work that is consistent throughout. Dud moment. It is a musically adventurous, meticulously produced album by a Royal Academy of music dropout turned Mercury Prize winning artist. Will gompertz, bbc news. Now on bbc news talking movies. Music plays hello from new york, im tom brook and as the us president ial Election Campaign gathers momentum, welcome to our cinema and politics edition of talking movies. President trump reportedly likes a hollywood classic, citizen kane. Joe biden has expressed the fineness of the british period drama, the kings speech. Weve been exploring the movie preferences of the president ial candidates and what they may signify. Murray, one small thing. Yeah . When you bring me out, can you introduce me asjoker. The moviejoker, the origin story for batmans biggest nemesis is among the films reportedly shown in the white house Screening Room during President Trumps tenure, as our steven
spielbergs pentagon papers drama, the post, and the musical drama the greatest showman. But nobody for certain knows how these films resonated with the president , but out on the streets, new yorkers believe they have a sense of what movies donald trump really likes. I think President Trump would probably like titanic, Something Like that. Definitely something violent, i would definitely say, like an action movie, definitely, like rogue warrior. Anything with violence, i would say. I guess rosebud isjust a piece of the jigsaw puzzle. But it seems the president has quite sophisticated tastes when it comes to movies. He has said his all time favourite film is director orson welles citizen kane regarded by many eminent critics as the greatest movie ever made. Its central character is Charles Foster kane, a wealthy media magnet, a man who accumulates. Magnate. When he sees Something Like citizen kane, he does see the pursuit, and hes always been about the pursuit of power and money and ego. Ive come here to say. Another classic, Francis Ford Coppolas the godfather is among president ials movie favourites, as is Martin Scorseses goodfellas. How bad were the Academy Awards this year . Did you see them . When it comes to movies, the president has been most vocal about films he doesnt like. After this years Academy Awards, he was upset with the south korean picture, parasite, had won best picture, it seems that perhaps it didnt sit well with his making America Great again ideology. Lets get gone with the wind, can we get gone with the wind back, please . Gone with the wind is, of course, a film thats been heavily criticised, especially for having racist stereotypes. I mean, this is a movie about the American South against the backdrop of the civil war and the reconstruction era. It involves a georgia
plantation owner, and to some degree, there is something about the kind of mentality associated with trumps base that seems to resonate in some of the nostalgia that gone with the wind encapsulates. In a video thatjoe biden tweeted earlier this year, we hear his granddaughter ask him and his wife a pop culture question about their preferred tv shows and books. To run would be against gods law. They didnt get around to movies, butjoe biden has said that the british historical drama, chariots of fire, with its story of olympic runners, is a favourite. Theres a very famous scene in the film, and its a scene that he has been quoted as saying is his favourite scene, in which one of the main runners in the film refuses to do a race on a sunday due to his religious beliefs. And joe biden has been very open about being a catholic himself, and i think the film and that scene just kind of speaks to his integrity and to his beliefs in a really, really strong way. Perhaps you should change jobs . And what of my husband, or the king . Another british film, the kings speech, which chronicles the efforts of britains future king, george vi, to overcome a stutter is another ofjoe bidens favourite films, perhaps because the former Vice President himself has also struggled with a stutter. He did have a speech impediment when he was a younger person and overcoming that, im sure, took a great deal of work. You see the work that King George Vi does to overcome that impediment in order to lead the uk into world war ii successfully and come out on top. You are not japanese. I can do it. Although the 1988 martial arts action film, blood sport, is also a donald trump favourite, the president does seem to display a propensity for movie classics, citizen kane, and, the godfather. Joe biden, less so. But who knows what the candidates really like, because their publicly stated movie preferences are very
calculated choices, designed to bring them votes. We have enough problems with south korea, with trade, on top of it, they give them the best movie of the year . Was it good . I dont know. Laughter donald trump has certainly motivated film makers, his brand of right wing populism has alarmed a wide range of directors who have often been prompted to tell stories that serve as a damning critique of the president. Tristen daley has been looking at what could be termed a wave of activist film making thats emerged during Donald Trumps days in the white house. There has never been a black cop in this city, we thank you might be the man to open things up around here. A majorfilm dealing with themes relating to the trump era was spike lees blackkklansman about a black Police Officer who infiltrates the ku klux klan in the 1970s. Lee took a swipe at trump by showing david duke, the grand wizard of the ku klux klan at the time, uttering the phrase, america first. A slogan that trump used
in his 2016 campaign. America first. America first the film also featured a tribute to heather higher, a young woman killed at the unite the right rally in charlottesville, virginia, where protesters clashed in 2017. Spike lee felt strongly about including this incident that has been described as an act of domestic terrorism. We wanted to remind people that this is notjust a period piece and when i saw that. American home grown active terrorism, i knew that would be the quota for this film. Coda. Chanting in recent years, there have been narrative films that have cast a negative light on trump, but some believe that documentarians are especially equipped to use their medium to speak up in this political climate. Well certainly see lots of documentaries focusing on trumps attitudes to women, to African Americans to immigrants, and similarly, his attitudes to violence on the street thats going on in our cities now. If i had not come on as the ceo of the campaign, trump would not have won. Some films are able to critique trump by focusing on those that have been in his inner circle, such as the brink, a documentary about former trump adviser, steve bannon. In my film, you kind of watch bannons first year after hes become the most famous and powerful that he ever has been in his entire life because of his association with the Trump Campaign and then the trump white house. He leaves the white house, and he is trying to figure out how to maintain, if not extend and grow his power and influence. Allison claymans documentary joins a number of movies critiquing the trump administration. Many of these films have touched audiences and garnered acclaim, but when it comes to the real world, theres still a question of whether these pictures can bring about actual change. Its really hard to imagine what could convert someone. I think what film makers like me are doing is a little bit more
about exposing, you see with your own eyes whats happening behind closed doors. I think you should let me run the country. Those who oppose trump arent the only film makers who have been enboldened during this time. Dinesh dsouza, a far right film maker who was convicted of Campaign Finance fraud was given a pardon by trump in 2018. His latest film from, trump card, criticises the Democratic Party and left wing politics and is slated for release next month. More generally, as for whether any of these films that oppose or promote trump can have an effect on the forthcoming election, that remains to be seen. Music plays two two term terms president s, Ronald Reagan and barack 0bama, are represented in a new just released documentary called the way i see it. It chronicles the work of former white house photographer, pete souza, who served during the reagan and 0bama years. He was a man who had extraordinary access to the president. The film is directed by dawn porter. I know what happens in the oval office, and thats what scares me. Pete doesnt do a lot of posed photographs. He really looks for those moments that capture the feeling in the room as much as the people in a room. When i first met pete, his politics were not at all were not evident. Pete changed. An important part of the film is showing pete souzas transformation from what you could say is a muzzled Civil Servant or official employee of the government, to being an outspoken critic of president donald trump. How did that come about . Pete was just horrified at the casual strongman tactics that hes seeing. With your documentary, it could be said in a way that it ends up being a president 0bama love fest, because you devote a lot of time to 0bama and much
less time to reagan. I mean, how balanced is this work . The point of this film isnt 0bama is perfect. It is seeing what qualities you need in a leader. And i thank you see those qualities in president reagan as well. His love of his family, his deep concern about the decisions he made. You mention reagan then, he might have been a caring man in terms of his human day to day contact, but there are a lot of people in the United States liberals particularly who are very unhappy with his policies which many would say had a destructive effect. That doesnt come through in your film. Im not a president reagan fan as a politician, but i can recognise his humanity as a person. So ill leave it to other movies to dissect, you know, particular policy, you know, decisions, and i think that those movies are necessary and fair. I know that a big effort was made to get your film ready so it would be able to be released before the forthcoming us president ial election. Why was that . Do you want to come in a way, influence voters . You are yeah you always want to influence voters. In the United States, we have become a little numb to some of the abhorrent and really dangerous processes in government. You know, we all wanted to remind people that this is not normal, that we are not in a regular political year, and that this kind of transcends party. The way i see it is fascinating to watch because of the intimate access pete souza had with the leader of the free world. But the film is a little unfocused, it also goes on a bit too long, making the point over and over that president 0bama was indeed a wondrous being compared to the current occupants of the white house. The presidency is a seriousjob. I was going to do everything i could to make sure people didnt forget that. In this covid 19 world, film festivals are trying to find their way, and the Venice Film Festival, which came to a close earlier this month, did pretty well. It showcased a powerful feature film called, and tomorrow the entire world. The subject matter of the picture is political. It explores the rise of the far right in germany and whether or not young people should use violence to oppose it. Emma jones reports from venice. This year, the Venice Film Festival offered a glimpse back into the world of celebrity. There were still films asking tough political questions. Burnt in subs. One of them, and tomorrow the entire world, offers a young german perspective on the resurgence of the far right in their nation. A young idealistic woman, luisa, joins an antifascist group, full of people her age where shes soon confronted by choices of how far to go to achieve their aims. Is violence the only way to get noticed . The co writer and director, julia von hines, was writing from personal experience and wrote a first draft 20 years ago. Julia, i understand this movie is slightly autobiographical to you, is that right . Autobiographical is too strong of a word. Its very, very personal. It refers to a time when. It was actually a decade. From 15 25, i experienced a lot of things that louisa in my film experiences, joining a left wing group, all the Group Dynamic processes, the questions of loyalty, the questions whether violence can be a political mean. I ask myself all those questions. All but one of the main cast are under the age of 30, including the two leading actresses. They play friends whose closeness is severely
tested over the question of whether their cause should use force. I think this movie is super important for all of us because we are living in a time where racism and nationalism is rising again. And i read the script and i was like, wow, that is so on point. And its crazy that julia was writing this movie or thinking about this movie 20 years ago. The last high Profile International film about young idealistic german activists was 16 years ago, the edukators, directed by hans van gardner and starring daniel bruel. But this is a story about anarchists rebelling against the consumerism of the 90s. This age, von hines believes, demands something else. In germany, there are many films about nazis, about historic nazis, but also about neo nazis, and i think this is so important, and im very happy that all these films exist, but there are also films about the left Wing Radical Movement from the 60s and 70s, but up from then there is no telling, there are no films about a very strong left wing movement. Of necessity, historically, film makers have given a lot of thought to germanys past and venice is also showing an out of competition documentary, final account, by the late british director, luke holland. Burnt in suibs. He spent a decade interviewing the last generational alive who took part in world war ii. Some who were part of the elite nazi guard, the ss, have repented of their actions others still refused to acknowledge they did anything wrong. How do you think germany is going to react to your film . There might be hate from right wing groups against the film, but there might also be a lot of criticism from left wing groups because i dont idealize it, i try to be precise. 0ur movie is not giving a simple answerand that is what we need. We need movies to move us so we are confused after it. Angry young men and women wanting to remake a broken world are not to new ideas in cinema, but and tomorrow the entire world seems to tap and the frustration and restlessness that pervades so much of europes youth and where that might lead. This is a tumultuous time in america and a particularly tumultuous time in american politics, with the country deeply divided. In years to come, there will no doubt be documentaries and possibly future films about the trump biden contest. Any new film that does emerge will have to compete against a long line of