two men convicted of the murder of the us civil rights leader malcolm x more than 50 years ago in new york are set to be exonerated. the manhattan district attorney said muhammad al aziz and khalil islam did not get the justice they deserved. poland says a thousand migrants are still gathered at the frontier with belarus as the european union steps up its efforts to resolve the border crisis. the human cost of the situation is growing with many families stuck out in the cold with no food or water. a new lawsuit has alleged the hollywood actor alec baldwin "chose to play russian roulette" with safety on a film set where the cinematographer was shot dead. script supervisor mamie mitchell claims there was no reason for the star to fire a gun on the set of rust. the house of commons has voted

to limit the ability of mps to take on a second job. but labour, whose own proposals for improving standards were defeated, described the government's plans as "warm words" rather than a plan of action. our political editor laura kuenssberg has the latest. has he boxed himself in? another u—turn, prime minister? after a fortnight of claims of bad behaviour being chucked around this place, borisjohnson finally conceded yesterday the rules for mps have to change. but he hasn't untangled a political mess, on display today at several times, in several ways. we now come to prime minister's questions. keir starmer. everybody else has apologised for him, but he won't apologise for himself. a coward, not a leader. yesterday, a screeching, last—minute u—turn to avoid defeat on labour's plan to ban mp5 from dodgy second contracts, but waving one white flag won't be enough to restore trust. howls of protest began when number 10 tried to change the rules to protect a former cabinet

minister who'd broken them — rules borisjohnson only now says have to change. what i think we need to do is to work together on the basis of the independent report by the committee on standards in public life. the prime minister, though, also seems to have concluded the best form of defence is attack. the right honourable gentleman is now trying to prosecute others for exactly the course of action that he took himself. ..questioning keir starmer�*s earnings as a lawyer when an mp, but before he was leader. this kind of telling off does not happen every day. order! prime minister, sit down. i'm not going to be challenged. you may be the prime minister of this country, but in this house, i'm in charge. downing street wants to stop this saga sliding into a full—blown emergency, but mps on all sides are angry about how the case of owen paterson unfolded,

and they want to take the time to show it... and, prime minister, i request that you give us your customary extra time. ..even if he looked like he'd rather be anywhere but here. i will do my best to oblige you as ever, sir bernard. i've got quite a lot on. the danger is that you've just tarred the whole of the house with the same brush, and yourself, haven't you? the intention genuinely was not to exonerate anybody. the intention was to see whether there was some way in which, on a cross—party basis, we could improve the system. you have a responsibility to be — go above and beyond, to go further than everybody should expect and to actually establish much higher standards. i do, yes. yes, i think it was a total mistake not to see that owen's breach of the rules, the former member of north shropshire�*s breach of the rules, made any discussion about anything else impossible.

sometimes westminster loves nothing more than a row about itself, but this shambles matters because it's shaken the tory confidence in number 10, given the opposition plenty of ammunition and, fairly orunfairly, it does taint the image of this place. as a frantic day drew to a close, labour's effort to change the rules failed... order, order. ..but government mps backed borisjohnson�*s proposal to limit some outside earnings in future. but listen... the ayes to the right, 297. the noes to the left, 0. less than half of the commons backed it. the chance of settling this saga amicably is slim indeed. laura kuenssberg, bbc news, westminster. now on bbc news, it's time for talking movies.

hello from new york. i'm tom brook and welcome to our talking movies review of film festival season 2021. as the star—studded big autumn film festival cycle draws to a close, we hear from the names that have emerged as possible awards contenders, those who might pick up prizes for their work. people seem to be enjoying it and responding to it. and we'll see what happens. we travel to all the key festivals — to telluride, toronto, new york, london and venice, which got the ball rolling with a big in—person festival. we are lucky because we are at the opening of the new season. everybody�*s willing to come back, to realise the films.

despite the pandemic, film festival season 2021 was, for the most part, a success. we need this. new york needs this film festival and we need each other. it's quite emotional to be here together. indeed, many movie fans found it emotional to return to in—person festival events wherever they were. the telluride film festival is a real movie lovers event, now in its 48th year. over the last decade or so, it's begun to play a very important role in award season, in that it showcases oscar—worthy work. whenever people ask me what's your favourite film festival, i always say telluride, because it is a real filmmaker�*s festival. dame helen was among the stars drawn to telluride this year, notjust because she was there with her much—liked british true crime caper, the duke, but because telluride

is quite special. a festival that shows great movies amid a landscape of incredible beauty interconnected by ski lifts. well, it's very easy, it's very unpretentious. you can walk to every venue. itjust has a wonderful feel about it. this one—time colorado mining town turned very affluent ski resort has definitely become a key point of entry for likely contenders in the oscars race. there's a laundry list of movies that broke out here — 12 years a slave, slumdog millionaire. it has a patina — a tiffany — understanding of what good movies are. i'm venus. i'm serena. so, what do you think? king richard, a real crowd—pleaser, was one film that generated oscars buzz this year for its star, will smith, for his portrait of richard williams, coach to his two daughters, top tennis players serena and venus williams. cyrano.

smith could bejoined in the best actor race by peter dinklage. the game of thrones star was very impressive in telluride with the musicalfilm cyrano. your body, from belfast, where everybody knows you. belfast, a black—and—white film memoirfrom kenneth branagh, also generated oscars talk at telluride. it's a very personal story of his experiences as a young boy in belfast as life for his protestant family was thrown into turmoil by the troubles in the late 1960s before they relocated to england. are we going to have to leave belfast? the film is set during a very tumultuous time, a political time, but it's not a politicalfilm, is it? no, i think that because it is seen so purposefully through the eyes of a 9—year—old, this is someone who doesn't really understand what politics really means. for him, it's a big enough challenge and it's a simple and, ultimately,

for the world, it's a profound challenge to sort of understand, "well, why those are people i was playing "with yesterday now people i can't play with?" the hand of god was another autobiographical tale from a top director creating oscars heat at telluride. it's a coming—of—age story from the academy award winning italian director paolo sorrentino, set in 1980s naples. it touches on the tragic death of the director's parents. for the filmmaker, it marks a new chapter in his career in terms of intimate storytelling. i was tired after 20 years to make all these movies in the same way. it was starting to become less funny for me to make movies. so i decided to change completely the way to make a movie, facing a different style, facing a different kind of story. yes, it was a different movie because it was about me and so it was different. being in telluride was a very positive experience, not only did it demonstrate that this awards season

is going to be packed with some great cinema, it also proved to me that a well curated in—person film festival can function and, indeed, flourish in pandemic times. although telluride does play a role in the early oscars race, it's really the venice film festival that gets the ball rolling with more spectacle. this year, it opened one day before telluride. and emma jones was there for talking movies looking for those venice films that had oscars heat. venice enjoyed its american dream again, with the return of hollywood stars after 1.5 years of nightmare for the film industry. the red carpets were crammed with famous faces and the competition with award season hopefuls. the venice lido always makes a beautiful setting

for hollywoods to launch its awards season hopefuls, and this year, the festival has bagged some heavyweight hitters that have been delayed since the pandemic. denis villeneuve�*s dune, the latest adaptation of the 1960s popular novel, groans under the weight of its famous cast and a huge budget of $165 million. the truth does not matter. the last dual, directed by ridley scott, was also delayed for months during the pandemic. it's co—written by matt damon and ben affleck, who also star in the historical tale of a married woman who accuses a knight, played by adam driver, of raping her. for its director, the venice premiere was a vital moment for the movie. i think it's the most important festival. and so, from our point of view, we need to sell an intelligent, extremely well acted and extremely well—made film to an audience that we need to go for, we need some

approval of the best critics to, say, give their nod and, therefore, that helps me. as venice has launched best picture winners from the shape of water to nomadland, the festival director says few have turned down this year's invitation to attend. we are lucky because we are at the opening of the new season. everybody is willing to come back to start again promoting them, to travel abroad, make the promotion, and so on. so it was not difficult to convince everybody to come to the festival. but celebration of cinema rather than the hope of reward is still a driving force. mona lisa and the blood moon, which was in competition, is directed by iranian american ana lily amirpour and stars kate hudson as a stripper who befriends a girl with superpowers. at the end of the day, we really do it because when you sit here and it all sort

of comes to life, collectively watching something together, it's magic. and i think festivals, especially this festival, to me — this is my third time — ijust love it so much. you feel the love at venice. when it came to venice's own awards, happening, a french drama about an illegal abortion, won the golden lion. maggie gyllenhaal�*s directing debut, the lost daughter, an adaptation of a novel by elena ferrante, won best screenplay. it's an unusual film, my film. it's a risky film, and for them to validate it means so much to me. i really feels great, completely over the moon right now. penelope cruz took best actress for another collaboration with pedro almodovar, parallel mothers, and jane campion won best director for the power of the dog. as in previous years, this event will probably

determine the films critics will reward in the months to come. welcome to toronto. normally, it's a bustling showcase overflowing with movie riches. but this year, because of covid—19, it was somewhat more subdued. the princess of wales theatre hosted the world premiere of the eyes of tammy faye, starring jessica chastain, a performance that's all but guaranteed to get her an oscar nomination. her portrait of the televangelist, who with her husband, jim baker, hosted a christian television programme, is mesmerising. jim bakker was arrested on counts of fraud in connection with their ministries and sent to jail. to many americans, tammy faye bakker, loved by her followers, stayed in the public consciousness as a figure of ridicule. this film takes her seriously. that was my goal, and it came from first watching

the documentary the eyes of tammy fae. i watched it about ten years ago and i was shocked with how little i actually really knew about tammy and how full of compassion and love she was. i didn't know much about her beyond the drama and the media sensationalism. so it was really important for me to kind of right that wrong, not only for her family, her legacy, but also for the lgbtq audiences that she wrapped her arms around in a time when the conservative evangelical community was turning their backs on them. how much work was involved for you, every day when you were shooting the film, in transforming yourself to play the part? you really do become tammy faye bakker in the most wondrous way. it was a lot of prep. for ten years in the back of my head i knew i was going to play her. i knew it was a huge — pardon the pun — leap of faith for me because there are so many aspects of her.

the way her voice is, the preaching, the singing, the silliness — she presents herself to the world very differently than i do, and so i was always afraid of it. so much so that towards the end, when it started to become real, i almost tried to sabotage it. five, four, three... jessica chastain�*s performance is much better than the film itself, which is a disappointment. it is a story told too much in broad strokes. it lacks originality. the bakkers�* appeal was to the christian right, but the film fails to understand a movement that has such a powerful impact on modern american political life. one great influential new york city rock band formed in the 1960s, the velvet underground, was the subject of a new york film festival documentary this year. the band came from a storied era in new york pop culture history. at one time artist andy warhol was its manager, and the band

had lou reed as its charismatic lead singer. we went to see the documentary. i am sponsoring a band that's called the velvet underground. a rock �*n�* roll band like no other. todd haynes�*s new documentary on the velvet underground explores the unique set of circumstances that brought together four outsiders to create a distinctly different sound, steeped in the heady mix of avant garde art and filmmaking of 1960s new york city. they go so deep within the 1960s itself, and they were so ahead of their time thematically and sonically, that no—one knew what to do with them. even at a time of incredible invention and desire for radical change, it still took decades to catch up with what they were doing. so you learn so much about not only the 1960s, but why did that happen.

at the centre of it was the famous new york city artist and film director andy warhol, who discovered the band and then became their manager. he incorporated them into his art studio, called the factory, where artists, models and other cool kids known as warhol's superstars hung out. people came because the camera was running. they thought they could become famous. todd haynes recreates the unconventional nature of velvet underground's music and how it combined with art in his film. he juxtaposes light with sounds, uses split screens and takes viewers on an immersivejourney through space and time. velvet underground's music was dark and edgy and full of life, so it makes perfect sense that the band was created here. in fact, this apartment at 56 ludlow street is where members of velvet underground perfected what would become some of their signature sounds. reed brought in themes from his own life, with lyrics

that never shied away from topics like drug abuse, sexuality and depression. he was immensely talented and deeply emotional, but reed could also be a difficult person to be close to. haynes�*s film explores this contradiction through those that knew him best. he was a complicated man. he was full of all kinds of protective barriers — somebody who felt insecurity and who is sharing it with us in the most direct way possible, which is in his work. reed's work and that of his band ended up speaking to those who don't quite fit in and prefer to embrace life with its rough edges intact. emerging from a pandemic in which we all felt disconnected and off—kilter, haynes believes the velvet underground also resonates for a new reason. for us, it was the movie we had been making underground during lockdown in this pandemic. but it was a movie about an incredibly vital time in creative life, in the history of film and in music.

and that music filled that room, and i think it did something to the audience beyond what the film itself is doing, because of the conditions that we have all lived through. in a way, film festival season was drawing to a close by the time the bfi london film festival arrived in early october. by then, there was some clarity as to which films and which performers were significant award season contenders. one of the big red carpet attractions was the movie spencer, which gave festival—goers a fictionalised portrait of diana, princess of wales, when she spent christmas with the royal family at sandringham in 1991.

it presents diana as being psychologically vulnerable and under the controlling grip of an unsympathetic royal household. it is an image of a british icon that has been shaped very much by outsiders. the filmmaker is the chilean pablo larrain and the woman who plays diana is the american actress kristen stewart. emma jones reports. bringing a story about the so—called people's princess to london where diana, princess of wales, lived for many years was a big moment for the cast and crew of spencer. it stars an american, kristen stewart, is directed by chilean filmmaker pablo larrain and was partly made in germany. but there is a supporting cast of british actors, and stewart feels the film belongs to britain. do you feel this is a british film as well? absolutely, ifeel like we're bringing it home for her completely. one of the reasons it's fun

to talk about this movie existing at all is that we get to have her again, even if it's just through the inspiration that she gave to pablo and to steven and myself. i definitely don't profess to be giving her another platform to exist, but she exists through what lingers. it's her influence, it's the things that she inspired, and we were so influenced and inspired by this woman. it's just nice to have it keep going — not that anyone would forget her. there's two of you. there's the real one and the one they take pictures of. the story, a weekend over a miserable christmas that diana spends with the royal family, is fictional, but stewart's performance and her resemblance to the princess have already attracted critical acclaim where the film has shown. i tried to absorb her as best i could in a kind of spiritual way, and not get so fixated and sort of debilitated by trying to do a perfect,

perfect impression. because she felt so alive and she felt so spontaneous and sort of earth—shaky that the only way to do her justice would be to kind of learn stuff technically but then forget about it and be free. she was, like, the least free woman for a long time, but her desire for freedom and her ability to attain it was so strong energetically that that was kind of impossible to nail. it is written by oscar nominee steven knight. since he wrote it, the emmy—winning netflix series the crown became one of the most watched tv series in the world, the audience fascinated by their interpretation of charles and diana's marriage. the british royals may be an ultra—wealthy and privileged family, but the heart of this story, knight says, is a domestic situation. i didn't read any of the books or watch any of the films or anything, but talked to people who were there at the time and tried to look through the keyhole via those first—hand accounts of what actually went on.

and how weird we all are — how weird every family is — how weird we all are at christmas and all the weird things that we do. and they are no different. the rest of the royal family are seen from diana's perspective, and given the interest in their lives as well as the person of diana, even a quarter of a century after her death, the film will self—generate headlines for its leading actress. i know every acting job must be like giving yourself to people. did you feel any more trepidation? yes. i mean, it's such a controversial subject. this movie has no answers, it's just asking those questions. so i knew — i was afraid of people maybe thinking that we weren't leading with love and with curiosity. and as outsiders, i thought — i was just sort of scared that people would think you have no right. that was my biggest fear, not that i wasn't good in the movie. the movie will succeed

if audiences feel that larrain and stewart, amidst the gothic feel of spencer, have delivered the woman and not the icon. i noticed that there was one movie that kept reappearing at every film festival we visited. it was at all of them — at venice, telluride, toronto, new york and in london. it was the power of the dog, a beautifully realised, disconcerting western put together with great skill by new zealand filmmakerjane campion. this story of a 19th—century rancher in montana, played by benedict cumberbatch, shows jane campion in total control of her craft. she gets brilliant performances from her cast and creates a great sense of place, to bring us a study of power

in relationships, toxic masculinity and repressed lives that truly lingers. it is a sure—fire awards contender and will most definitely be a part of next year's oscars race. that brings our special talking movies festival season 2021 to a close. we hope you have enjoyed the show. please remember you can always reach us online, and you can find us on facebook and twitter. well, with film festival season now more or less behind us, a new movie season has emerged. it is the end—of—the—year prestige film season, and one of the eagerly awaited movies coming up is steven spielberg's adaptation of west side story. today we're going to leave you with a clip from the 1961 film adaptation of that loved broadway musical. # a time and place for us.

# hold my hand and we're halfway there. # hold my hand and i'll take you there. # somehow, someday, somewhere. ..# hello there. the weather isn't changing in too much of a hurry over the next few days, because high pressure keeping things dry, settled, and very mild still for this time of year. so another mild and quite breezy day to come on thursday. dry weather for most of us, but not everywhere. we have got this weather front sitting close to the north of scotland, so that'll produce outbreaks of rain mainly for northern and western scotland, but high pressure to the south dominating the weather for most places. and, with that high pressure, we're drawing in winds

in a south—westerly direction, so bringing the mild air and the orange colours really right across the uk. might be a bit of a chilly start for some southern and eastern parts of england first thing, the odd misty patch around. generally, the cloud will increase from the west through the day, but there will be some spells of sunshine for east anglia and the southeast, up towards eastern scotland, as well. still a bit of rain to come for the northwest of scotland, but the breeze blowing over the mountains is likely to create something called a foehn effect, lifting temperatures to around 17 celsius for aberdeenshire. widely 111—15 the top temperature — and compare that to the average temperature this time of year of only about nine celsius, so well above average. it'll be windy again particularly in the northwest, with gusts of wind about a0 mph, but lighter winds further south. so through thursday evening now and heading overnight into friday, it'll be a pretty cloudy picture. a bit of low cloud and hill fog likely, some drizzle around some coastal hills in the west once again. but it will be a very mild and certainly frost—free start to friday morning, but we've still got that rain continuing across the western isles and northern highland, as well. into friday, no great changes — there's that weather front across the north of scotland, there's the high pressure in charge for most places. so quite a cloudy picture,

i think, but predominantly dry through the day on friday, away from the north and northwest of scotland where we've got that weather front continuing to bring outbreaks of rain. temperatures again getting up to 14—15, even 16 celsius through the foehn effect once again through the east of scotland. it won't last forever, this mild weather, though — into the weekend, saturday, we'll see a cold front moving south across the northern half of the uk. into sunday, that slips its way further south, and it'll introduce the blue colours, the colder air mass with these northerly winds moving across all areas. so gradually through the weekend, things will be turning colder. we'll still look at temperatures in double figures through the day on saturday but, by the time we get to sunday, things will be noticeably cooler — maybe time to dig out the winter coat. bye for now.

welcome to bbc news. our top stories: two men convicted of the murder of the us civil rights leader, malcolm x, more than 50 years ago, are set to be exonerated. as poland says a thousand migrants are still gathered at the frontier with belarus, we look at the human cost of the border crisis. the actor alec baldwin is described as reckless in a new lawsuit over the fatal film set shooting of a cinematographer working on the western rust. in our opinion, mr baldwin chose to play russian roulette when he fired a gun without checking it. a state of emergency is declared in the canadian western province of british columbia as floods force thousands

to leave their homes.