this is bbc news. the headlines... a bbc investigation casts doubt on the greek authorities account of the sinking of a boat in which hundreds of migrants are feared to have died. analysis shows the boat was in difficulty for several hours before it capsized — the greek coastguard claimed it was on a steady course. the us says its top diplomat has held "candid, substantive and constructive" talks with his chinese counterpart. the visit to beijing by antony blinken comes as tensions remain high between the two countries. a senior british government minister has apologised — over a video showing conservative activists partying during the uk's lockdown in 2020. the metropolitan police says it's "aware" of the footage. switzerland has approved a new law to make the country carbon neutral by 2050. the proposals require the government to slash the country's reliance on fossil fuels.

now on bbc news — a special edition of talking movies from the tribeca festival. hello from new york. i'm tom brook, and welcome to talking movies. in this edition, highlights from robert de niro�*s tribeca festival. lots on offer at tribeca this year and lots to see in talking movies. the opening—night film was kiss the future, co—produced by matt damon. what i love about this movie is what it says about the role of art and music as an act of defiance. compelling documentaries from ukraine including one showing the power of laughter during war. and female film—makers breaking

records at tribeca with better representation than ever this year — they were very pleased to be here. tribeca! it is the word on every movie director's lips. and the deaf oscar—winning actor, troy kotsur, on his moving short film paying tribute to his father. all that and more on this special tribeca edition of talking movies. for the past 12 days, new york city has been hosting the tribeca festival. it began on a somewhat ominous note with smoke and haze from canada's wildfires darkening the afternoon manhattan skies. but that didn't dampen festivities. tribeca has become a big enterprise, boasting some 600 events, and more than 100 feature films were shown.

i am delighted to be in new york and i think tribeca are leading the way in terms of inclusivity and gender parity and promoting female film—makers because we still haven't got that parity and we certainly don't have equal pay either, so all hats off to them. tribeca also brings out reporters. many want to interview the stars. people love hollywood actors, like matt damon, robert de niro, like ben affleck. tribeca isn't a world—class film festival like venice or cannes but it certainly, amid all the chaos, got a lot to offer, as they talking movies team has been busy finding out. tribeca kicked off with a music documentary. set in the siege of sarajevo in the 1990s, it shows how rock music kept the spirits of hope alive. i spoke to one of

the film's producers, hollywood star, matt damon. a long way from sarajevo but perhaps new york shares the same defiant punk spirit that imbues the documentary, kiss the future. the siege of sarajevo was a horrific war where people were surrounded, they didn't have food, water, electricity, they were shot at but they had a necessity to connect, to have purpose, and music and art was one of the ways that they were able to deal with things. the audience was literally risking their lives, running to different bridges to the theatre. using photos and amateur footage, the film shows how a defiant underground art scene thrived in the bomb shelters during the bosnian war. well, it is about 11 o'clock here at sarajevo. in particular it is a story of bill carter, an american aid worker and film—maker still in sarajevo, who got the attention of irish supergroup u2

who in the early 1990s were on their zooropa tour. it might not be on the news as much as we'd like, it might not be on the tv as much as we'd like, but you are with us tonight. over a series of live interviews between carter, artists in sarajevo and the band, european audiences were made aware of what was happening in a city on the same continent. matt damon accompanied bill carter to an earlier premiere in berlin this year. damon produced the film along with his hollywood partner, ben affleck. what i love about this movie is what it says about the role of art and music as an act of defiance and as an act of resistance, and as a way to kind of build community, and as a way to be alive and that that wins in the end. inside i had, in sarajevo, there was war, they were in the middle of it. u2 contribute to the documentary, reliving how

the band became the first international act to play sarajevo in 1997, after the war formally ended, cementing their connection with the city. the band own the concert footage. it will be seen for the first time in the film as damon explains. they have been amazing, they gave us all this incredible footage, and what they did then, you know, i can say it, it is incredible. that concert, what it meant — the peace that had been declared but it was the first time that every body came together. it was a therapy for us, it was a real therapy for us. culture even thrived in sarajevo during the years of war. its international film festival was started in the middle of it. the name of this film, kiss the future, is taken from what bono told sarajevo citizens during that concert, that they can be rightly proud of how their artists also dealt with their past.

the ongoing conflict in ukraine was being reported by news outlets throughout the tribeca festival, providing an unsettling backdrop to the festivities. but tribeca did address the turmoil in ukraine in at least two documentaries, focusing on the responses of the creative community in ukraine to the war. my name is anton tymoshenko. i am a stand—up comedian from kyiv, in ukraine. and i am trying not to die and defeat russia. the documentary, comedy of war: laughter in ukraine, follows four stand—up comics still plying their trade during the war. they have been performing in makeshift venues, often in bomb shelters. if you laugh about it, it is not so scary any more. one of those featured is hanna kochehura who came to new york for the festival. she told me that laughter by way of stand—up comedy is vital in times of war. i think that humour is incredibly important in such times and i feel

like i can help others a bit, in terms of, like, if you laugh at least for two minutes a day, it is like a break, and without a break it is impossible to go through all of that. we also do shows for military, when we can, because they are kinda busy. some people might find it hard to understand what you're saying, in a way, because they will think of what is going on in ukraine with the war and the turmoil and think that laughter is somehow inappropriate. i think it is most appropriate. first of all it is rebellious, it is against everything that russia wants us to be, like depressed, hopeless and tired. secondly, i think it is normal in the times of darkness to find something light and joke about it, even if it has a darkjoke,

if you can laugh about it, it is not so scary and it is just kind of better. this gas station is not working. we are going to kharkiv to make a show in a shelter. _ the stand—up comics featured in this documentary are very committed to what they are doing. to varying degrees they have been inspired by ukraine's president zelensky who has a background as an actor and a comedian. absolutely, they all have reverence for zelensky, i think that they all were inspired in some way by him. not maybe perhaps to do stand—up but they appreciate, i feel like they have a certain connection with him because of that. it is really an exploration of the power of laughter and comedy as a driving force to kind of defy, to bolster, strength and galvanise people and a culture and to keep their head up and to carry on. another ukraine—focused tribeca film that got attention was rule of two walls, an ambitious work looking

at the war through ukrainian artists who have remained in the country. it even includes the stories of members of the crew involved in making the film. i have not really slept for two years... the film's ukrainian american director has crafted his documentary to convey the view that ukraine has a distinct identity. some of the individuals featured in the film emphasises that in the face of what they see as russian propaganda. putin laid down, made his case to this invasion by saying that ukraine doesn't exist, that it doesn't have a history that it doesn't have a culture, and so the job of artists and storytellers is to fight within this battlefield of the information. we are seeing artists and activists fighting that war on that front. there was a british presence at tribeca this year, and among the offerings was a film called the lesson, starring richard e grant and daryl mccormack.

the movie's presence at the festival represented a big moment for its director, alice troughton, as we have been finding out. your father is the most revered writer in the country. my husband, the subject of your thesis? alice troughton�*s feature film debut is a thriller where words and ideas are dangerous currency. rising irish actor daryl mccormack plays an aspiring writer who takes up residence at a famous novelist�*s house in order to tutor his son. it isn't long however before buried secrets begin to emerge. when you said i wasn't the first, what did you mean? what really drew me to playing this character was the fact that i just saw a hungry young man who is walking into a world that he is not fully embodied yet, and i think you just have a great thriller in that he ends up right beside his hero quite quickly. the film talks about how we idolise people as well and how that can be both a good and bad thing.

i think the film says quite a lot about the english class system and we were aware of that, the sort of death by one thousand cuts that a dinner table can give you. "have you got the right tie on?" the right music playing?" how we fit into that. it says a lot about creativity, i think. when your creativity is on the wane, how do you prop that up and how do you know that you are toxic? and that is interesting. great writers steal. veteran actor richard e grant plays the pre—eminent novelist, a man obsessed with finishing his latest work. but at what cost? if you're asking whether my son's death has inspired my writing, the answer is no, i will not be writing about his death, i will be writing in spite of it. i knew that we had a clever, witty script. what i didn't know was how funny it was going to turn out to be in the edit. and what i think richard brings is — you know, he made his name on

withnail and i, in the same sort of role that gives you comedy but at the end of the day, complete tragedy, and he can encompass both. i think it is one of his finest performances, i think he is splendid in it. the film has a very english feel to it but it was actually shot near hamburg, in germany, forfinancial reasons. but it is in the uk where alice troughton has made her name as a respected television director for over two decades. cast him out... into the sun. ..into the sun. she is probably best associated with genre shows, having directed acclaimed episodes of doctor who, torchwood and the living and the dead. i have a new novel and i was wondering if you might be on hand for the final stretch. the lesson marks a new phase in her career, into making her first full—length feature film. if we look at the statistics of women movie directors, we're still on about 18%, so part of what i wanted do was to show their next generation that it can be done, should be done, that we need other voices directing

and that is, i think, one of my main motivations is to set an example. also there is a joy to directing short form and putting your story in an hour and a half for me, has been wonderful. 0ther directors are moving from films to high—end television because they can tell their arcs over a longer period of time and i am doing the opposite, i'm moving in the opposite direction, which i always like to do. despite a long career in television, alice troughton is all too aware of the pitfalls, double standards and harsh scrutiny that female directors often experience. i think the film will live and die on its own merit, and yet i do see a trend to take certainly high—profile directors that there is a salaciousness in leaping on any kind of perceived mistake and tearing the wings of butterflies is how i like to put it, and let's hope we can avoid that. you are changing my work. i'm not.

who is the writer? this isn't about the writing. it was only ever about the writing. 0ne tribeca festival documentary that got a lot of attention this year was transition. it charts a journey ofjordan bryon and his gender transition in the most unlikely of environments — while he was embedded with the taliban in afghanistan. australian film—maker and journalist jordan bryon was in afghanistan in 2021 when kabul fell to taliban rule. he stayed and for a period he was embedded as a video journalist for the new york times with a group of young taliban soldiers. jordan didn't tell them that he was transgender. reinforcing again and again to the taliban unit that runs the airport that i am a woman. the film which co—directed is a rare and fascinating chronicle of the trials of a gender transition

in the most stressful of environments. jordan worries that if the soldiers discover his secret, he could be executed for his transgression. there are nerve—racking moments such as when he's searched at the airport. the airport scene was definitely shot extremely surreptitiously, it is not legal to film in an airport, and the intelligence actually busted us for shooting that scene and then we got carted off by them and had to spend a couple of hours negotiating our way out. ultimately they just deleted the footage but they didn't realise that it goes to the trash and then kind of stays in the trash, so luckily we were able to salvage that. it is a film about a very specific scenario but jordan's determination to transition, eventually he travelled to iran to get reassignment surgery, reveal something universal of the trans experience. the thing i want, that i hope that other trans people in the world take away from this is that you can do anything, you can go anywhere, you can do incredible

things and being trans doesn't need to limit you. at the tribeca film festival, the documentaries are often stronger than the narrative features. and transition is a great example of the strength of its category. it is a film that addresses human rights issues while unusually humanising those who wish to take those right away, the taliban soldiers themselves. the main point that i find the most interesting in the film and that i want people to engage with is even though i don't necessarily like the taliban, i don't like the people that i am filming with, i still want to live in a world where they have the right to believe what they believe and to say what they say, even though i don't like it. i am so sick of being stressed about this, i just want to have the surgery and at least get that stress out of the way. with its journalistic view, transition is an education into the realities of gender dysphoria and a celebration of those who fight for equality

under harrowing circumstances. at a time when afghanistan is less dominant in news cycle and trans issues are getting more of a spotlight, transition allows viewers to see both of them in a new light. cast your mind back to the academy awards last year, do you remember troy kotsur? well, he made history by becoming the first male deaf actor to win an oscar for his performance in the musical family drama, coda. at the time in his acceptance speech he praised his father, saying, "dad, you are my hero." well, to understand exactly why he chose to single out his father for such glowing admiration, you have to watch a very moving short film that was shown here tribeca.

the film is called to my father, and in it 54—year—old troy kotsur recounts his childhood memories of being deaf. he makes the point that his father, a police chief in arizona, went out of his way to learn sign language so that he could communicate with him. this short film is all about the transformational power a father's love had on deaf son from a very young age. back then learning sign language was quite rare for hearing parents, and so when they found out i was born deaf, he decided to do what was best for my education and learned sign language when i was quite young. and i was naive and i didn't realise how much work my father went through. he was involved in setting up and recruiting some deaf kids to set up a deaf soccer team and all of these things, even though he was such a busy man as a police chief, and he had four kids, and still managed to learn sign language and take the time to communicate with me. troy kotsur appeared to be enjoying tribeca, recounting his story, even though his upbringing had moments of great sadness when his father was badly injured in a road accident.

one night he was hit by a drunk driver, he was in the car accident and everything changed, and he was paralysed from the neck down and lost his ability to sign. but he didn't let that stop him, he persisted. his persistence inspired me, i forgot that i was deaf, being deaf was nothing, and so i saw what my father went through for the rest of his life and eventually i won an oscar and so i dedicated my 0scar to my father. and troy kotsur made this short tribeca film because he wanted to show how his father's love helped him get to where he is today. when looked at myself, being deaf wasn't a big deal, i'm proud to be deaf, i can still walk, i can drive, i can sign, and so my father breaking all these barriers really showed me that i could have a parallel path and broke barriers for myself. and so i didn't allow deafness to stop me. i'm not broken, nobody can take my deafness away, no—one needs to fix me,

that is one reason why we're showing this film and releasing it at tribeca. i'm extremely excited and i feel honoured to be able to gift to my father's story to the world and hopefully folks get that inspiration from him that i got. i can't stay with you for the rest of my life. coda, the film which brought troy kotsur recognition, won best picture 0scar, it was seen as a landmark movie in that it was the first film with a predominately deaf cast in leading roles to win best picture. there are improvements in terms of how deaf people are employed by the film industry and represented on screen. are you satisfied with the rate of progress? hollywood is beginning to have an open mind and trying to figure out how to work with actors who happen to be deaf and it's a challenge. i'm seeing more and more diversity and i feel extremely happy to see those improvements because there are so many stories to tell, everyone

has a story to tell. that brings this edition of talking movies to a close. we hope you have enjoyed the show. please remember you can always reach us online at: this year, tribeca featured a documentary on the american singer gloria gaynor, we will leave you with one of her best—known songs, i will survive. so from me tom brook and the rest of the talking movies team, surviving here in new york city, it's good—bye. # i will survive! # as long as i know how to love i know i'll feel alive # i've got all my life to live # i got all my love to give # i'll survive # i will survive # hey, hey.

hello. as forecast, downpours are affecting parts of the country right now with thunder and lightning, hail, gusty winds, too, and we'll continue to see that severe weather affecting areas of the uk through the course of this evening and into tonight as that storminess travels from south due north. so further flash flooding is possible, and those downpours could deliver 30mm of rain within an hour and even more than that spread over a few hours. so nasty weather to come. and, of course, it is welcome rain across some parts of the country because it's been very dry. but the solid ground does mean that in some parts of the uk we do get the flash flooding. now, through the evening, the heaviest of the rain will be moving across northern parts of england, really quite heavy in the northwest, throughout yorkshire, into the very far north of england, and then

eventually southern, central and eastern parts of scotland through the early hours of monday morning, whereas further south, the weather will tend to dry out early in the morning it will be muggy — on monday, temperatures will be around 13—15 celsius. so right from the word go, it's a cloudy and rainy picture across many central and northern parts of scotland. but to the south, i think some sunshine. and then tomorrow for many of us, a fine day, just a scattering of showers here and there, the odd crack of thunder, the odd heavier downpour, but a lot of sunshine around and really quite warm. look at these values, around 25 celsius on the north sea coast. low pressure is still with us on monday and tuesday as it travels northwards, and further showers are expected to spread in from the south. so i think on tuesday, again, another round of storms spreading across the country, possible almost anywhere across the uk. the temperatures a little lower than of late, perhaps in the low 20s for most of us, but really pleasant enough in the sunshine, and it is still quite muggy air. how about the rest of the week? well, low pressure will be out in the atlantic. it may be brushing northwestern parts of the uk later in the week,

but ahead of it, towards the south and the east we will see a ridge of high pressure building, and that ridge of high pressure means warm and sunny weather, particularly for eastern and southern areas of the uk. and if we look at the outlook, certainly the apps are suggesting those temperatures rising towards the end of the week, but the weather itself is looking rather mixed with showers at times. bye— bye.

live from london, this is bbc news. a bbc investigation casts doubt on the greek authorities account of the sinking of a boat, in which hundreds of migrants are feared to have died. the united states gives a positive assesment of talks but beijing says relations are at a historic low. and a senior british government minister apologises after a new video shows conservative activists partying during the uk's lockdown in 2020.