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Rebecca Hall was in her mid-20s when she first started to understand her complicated family history. The British actress-turned-director says most would look at her fair complexion and dark hair and see “English rose”, she says – but looks are never the end of a person’s story.

Hall, who has appeared in films including Vicky Cristina Barcelona, Frost/Nixon and Holmes & Watson, is the daughter of the late renowned British film and theatre director Peter Hall and the American opera singer Maria Ewing.

Her maternal grandfather, she learned, was a light-skinned black man who “passed” for white for the majority of his life.

Tessa Thompson and Ruth Negga star in Rebecca Hall's Passing. Pic: Netflix
Image:
Tessa Thompson (left) and Ruth Negga star in Rebecca Hall’s Passing. Pic: Netflix

It was about 13 years ago, when Hall picked up the 1929 novel Passing, by Nella Larsen, that she started to consider her own mixed-race heritage and why it had never really been spoken about in her family.

Set in the Harlem neighbourhood of New York, Larsen’s exploration of race and the practice of “passing”, which was not uncommon for light-skinned black people wanting to escape racial segregation and discrimination in that era, struck a nerve.

(L-R): Ruth Negga, Rebecca Hall and Tessa Thompson attend a special screening of Passing during the 59th New York Film Festival on 3 October 2021. Pic: Andy Kropa/ Invision/ AP
Image:
Hall pictured with Negga (left) and Tessa Thompson (right) at a screening of the film in New York earlier this year, and below with her mother, Maria Ewing, in 2010. Pics: Andy Kropa/Invision/AP and Alex Berliner/BEI/Shutterstock
Rebecca Hall and her mother Maria Ewing pictured in 2010. Pic: Alex Berliner/BEI/Shutterstock

Finding out about her own history led to Hall adapting the novel for the big screen; the story follows two black women, Irene Redfield (Tessa Thompson) and Clare Kendry (Oscar nominee Ruth Negga), who could both “pass” as white but choose to live on opposite sides of the colour line.

“I think so many people are not aware that it happened because it’s a historical event that was necessarily hidden,” Hall tells Sky News.

“So a lot of families, it’s hidden even within those families, including my own. My grandfather was African-American and he passed white for most of his life. And that is a fact that I’ve only really fully learned details of in the last year or so.”

Before she read Larsen’s novel, Hall says she had no context or even any way of describing how her grandfather had lived his life, and why. “So it gave me an enormous amount of context and understanding and compassion and empathy for the choice.”

Passing tells the story of former childhood friends Clare and Irene, who are reunited one summer and Irene discovers Clare has been passing as white; she is even married to an overt racist (played by Alexander Skarsgård).

The film uses the notion of passing to explore not just racial identity but gender and the responsibilities of motherhood, sexuality and the performance of femininity.

Tessa Thompson as Irene and Ruth Negga as Clare with director Rebecca Hall on the set of Passing. Pic: Emily V Aragones/ Netflix
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Hall on set with Thompson and Negga, and below with Andre Holland, who plays Irene’s husband Brian. Pics: Emily V Aragones/ Netflix
Andre Holland (Brian) on the set of Passing with director Rebecca Hall. Pic: Emily V Aragones/ Netflix

It is not about critiquing those who chose to pass, says Hall, but about critiquing “a society that, in any way, judges a person’s construct of themselves… there’s the things we think we believe, the person we think we ought to be, that society wants us to be. And there’s the thing we really want to be, that we desire to be. And sometimes that can be a huge conflict zone, and it means sometimes that we’re hiding our true selves.”

Passing is Hall’s directorial debut and it has been many years in the making. “I faced problems both within the industry – I came up against blocks trying to get it made – but I also came up against personal blocks,” she says.

“[The screenplay] sat in a drawer for quite a long time because I just didn’t have the confidence. I felt like it was too ambitious… and I just didn’t believe anyone would let me make it.”

Hall feared that some in the industry would question her suitability for telling this story.

“The pitch meetings were particularly poignant,” she says. “I ended up getting very emotional every time I was pitching it to some financier because they would invariably ask me, you know, ‘why on earth are you making this?’

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“But I feel like I’m this sort of walking example of what this film’s all about. You know, everyone looks at me and has a whole set of assumptions that aren’t necessarily true. Or they’re true but it’s not the end of the story.

“Forever, everyone’s looked at me and known that I’m Peter Hall’s daughter and I’m part of a British theatrical lineage, and [I’m thought of as] ‘English rose’, and that’s sort of the end of the story. And the fact that within my own story there’s… so many other contradictory and elusive things sort of points out the absurdity of it all.”

Hall has shot the film in black and white, something she would not budge on. “In a very soundbitey kind of way, it just felt like the best way to make a movie about colourism was to take all the colour out of it,” she says.

“But I think more specifically what I mean by that is, I think sometimes to understand truths about humanity, we need poetry. We don’t necessarily need complete reality, sometimes the abstraction helps.

Ruth Negga as Clare and Tessa Thompson as Irene in Passing. Pic: Netflix
Image:
Negga as Clare and Thompson as Irene in Passing. Pic: Netflix
Ruth Negga as Clare and Alexander Skarsgard as John in Passing. Pic: Netflix
Image:
Alexander Skarsgard plays Clare’s racist husband John. Pic: Netflix

“I think black and white takes these concepts and sort of highlights that we’re so busy putting everyone into these categories, when no one can be reduced to a single thing. Like, you” – she gestures to me – “can’t be reduced to just ‘woman’ or, you know, ‘white’, or whatever it is… the great irony about black and white film is it’s not black and white, it’s grey. And this is existing in the grey areas, actually.”

Making the film opened up a lot of conversations between Hall and her mother that had previously been left unsaid.

“She’s extremely proud and she’s extremely emotional about it,” says Hall. “She said that she felt it had given her and her father who’s no longer with us a sort of release in a way, like an ability to talk about something that up until this point felt like it couldn’t be addressed.”

She adds: “I hope, sort of in the broadest sense, the thing that people take away [from the film] is, thinking about what the legacy of a life lived in hiding is. And that doesn’t just mean racial hiding, it means all the ways in which we’re not showing up for ourselves completely. And how we can’t because of how much society imposes something – especially black women.”

Passing is out now on Netflix

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BAFTA Games Awards: Astro Bot tops leaderboard – with psychological horror close behind

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BAFTA Games Awards: Astro Bot tops leaderboard - with psychological horror close behind

Astro Bot was the big winner at this year’s BAFTA Games Awards, taking home five prizes, including the coveted best game.

The 3D platformer, which was launched to critical acclaim in September to mark PlayStation’s 30th anniversary, was nominated for eight gongs, while Senua’s Saga: Hellblade II, led with 11 nods.

But in the end, the critics – some of whom had dubbed Astro Bot a “perfect game” – were right as it dominated the awards at London’s Queen Elizabeth Hall, hosted by comedian Phil Wang for the second year running.

Astro Bot
Pic:Team Asobi
https://www.teamasobi.com/games/astro-bot
Image:
Astro Bot. Pic: Team Asobi

Nicholas Doucet with his five awards for Astro Bot. Pic: PA
Image:
Nicolas Doucet with his five awards for Astro Bot. Pic: PA

BAFTAs for audio achievement, game design, animation, and best family game completed the set for developers Team Asobi, who designed multiple galaxies and dozens of levels for the titular Astro to journey through, retrieving spaceship parts and rescuing lost robots.

“We’re a team based in Japan, but we have over 12 nationalities. We really mix it up and get ideas from everyone,” Nicolas Doucet, president of Team Asobi, told Sky News.

“We do a lot of jokes in the game, but the joke has a different meaning depending on where you are in the world. So it’s really, really nice to go around and ask everyone ‘is that joke fine in your country?’ And then together we come to a kind of universal playfulness.”

Pic: Innovative platform game Astro Bot swept the night, taking the prestigious best game award too. Pic: BAFTA
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Among the gongs for Astro Bot was the best game award. Pic: BAFTA

It’s a very different atmosphere than that generated by British psychological horror Still Wakes The Deep, which won three awards for best new intellectual property and best supporting and leading roles.

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Compared to John Carpenter’s 1980 sci-fi horror The Thing but on a Scottish oil rig, the game sees players take on the role of an electrician trapped on a damaged facility while being pursued by monsters.

Still Wakes The Deep.
Pic: Sumo Digital Limited
Image:
Still Wakes The Deep. Pic: Sumo Digital Limited

Developer The Chinese Room has been praised for using home-grown talent to voice the characters, including comedian and actress Karen Dunbar, who picked up best performer in a supporting role for voicing Finlay.

“I’ve been nominated for quite a few BAFTAs in my time in Scotland, and I’ve never won one,” said Dunbar.

“It was such a great category, so many great performances. When they shouted my name, I think I started clapping for someone else!”

Read more: See full list of winners

Still Wakes The Deep star Karen Dunbar won best performer in a supporting role. Pic: BAFTA
Image:
Still Wakes The Deep star Karen Dunbar won best performer in a supporting role. Pic: BAFTA

Meanwhile, best multiplayer game went to Helldivers II – a satirical, sci-fi shooter that sees players fight bugs, aliens and robots with the gumption and gullibility of the characters in Paul Verhoeven’s Starship Troopers.

It has gained a cult following since launching in February 2024 with so much initial interest it created server problems.

“Games for me are about connecting people and forging those bonds of friendship and the multiplayer award is exactly what it stands for,” said Johan Pilestedt, chief executive of Arrowhead Game Studios.

Helldivers II.
Pic:  Arrowhead/Sony
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Helldivers II. Pic: Arrowhead/Sony

From outer space to a fictional Yorkshire town called Barnsworth. Thank Goodness You’re Here! – a cartoonish, comedy platformer – won Best British Game. Like Still Wakes The Deep, it has won praise for the authenticity of its actors and setting.

I think it’s been a real privilege to be able to represent Barnsley on the silver screen,” said Will Todd, who is from the town and one of two game designers behind the project.

Thank Goodness You’re Here! 
Pic: Coal Supper/Panic Inc
https://thankgoodness.game/
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Thank Goodness You’re Here! Pic: Coal Supper/Panic Inc

Co-creator James Carbutt added: “Me and Will wrote everything in our tone of voice, quite literally. The further along development we got, the more we lent into it. I think the voices from different parts of the UK and different voices in gaming are super important, and hopefully we’re one of them.”

By the time the BAFTAs wrapped up, Senua’s Saga: Hellblade II was only handed one of the 11 BAFTAs it was nominated for, technical achievement.

Senua’s Saga: Hellblade II 
Pic: Ninja Theory
Image:
Senua’s Saga: Hellblade II. Pic: Ninja Theory

But developers Ninja Theory are already adding this year’s win to a tally of five BAFTAs they were awarded for the first game in the series, which created a protagonist with psychosis by drawing on clinical neuroscience and the experiences of people living with the condition.

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BAFTA Games Awards: Full list of winners

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BAFTA Games Awards: Full list of winners

The BAFTA Games Awards celebrate gaming excellence and creative achievement in the best games of the last year.

Hosted by comedian Phil Wang for the second year running, the biggest names in gaming gathered at London’s Queen Elizabeth Hall.

With 41 games nominated across 17 categories, here are all the winners – in bold – from the night.

Animation
Astro Bot
Call of Duty: Black Ops 6
LEGO Horizon Adventures
Senua’s Saga: Hellblade II
Thank Goodness You’re Here!
Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2

Artistic Achievement
Astro Bot
Black Myth: Wukong
Harold Halibut
Neva
Senua’s Saga: Hellblade II
Still Wakes the Deep

Audio Achievement
ANIMAL WELL
Astro Bot
Helldivers 2
Senua’s Saga: Hellblade II
Star Wars Outlaws
Still Wakes the Deep

Best Game
Astro Bot
Balatro
Black Myth: Wukong
Helldivers 2
The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom
Thank Goodness You’re Here!

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British Game
A Highland Song
LEGO Horizon Adventures
Paper Trail
Senua’s Saga: Hellblade II
Still Wakes the Deep
Thank Goodness You’re Here!

Debut Game
ANIMAL WELL
Balatro
Pacific Drive
The Plucky Squire
Tales of Kenzera: ZAU
Thank Goodness You’re Here!

Evolving Game
Diablo IV
FINAL FANTASY XIV ONLINE
No Man’s Sky
Sea of Thieves
Vampire Survivors
World of Warcraft

Family
Astro Bot
Cat Quest III
LEGO Horizon Adventures
Little Kitty, Big City
The Plucky Squire
Super Mario Party Jamboree

Game Beyond Entertainment
Botany Manor
Kind Words 2 (lofi city pop)
Senua’s Saga: Hellblade II
Tales of Kenzera: ZAU
Tetris Forever
Vampire Therapist

Game Design
ANIMAL WELL
Astro Bot
Balatro
Helldivers 2
The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom
Tactical Breach Wizards

Multiplayer
Call of Duty: Black Ops 6
Helldivers 2
LEGO Horizon Adventures
Super Mario Party Jamboree
TEKKEN 8
Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2

Music
Astro Bot
Black Myth: Wukong
FINAL FANTASY VII REBIRTH
Helldivers 2
Senua’s Saga: Hellblade II
Star Wars Outlaws

Narrative
Black Myth: Wukong
Dragon Age: The Veilguard
FINAL FANTASY VII REBIRTH
Metaphor: ReFantazio
Senua’s Saga: Hellblade II
Still Wakes the Deep

New Intellectual Property
ANIMAL WELL
Balatro
Black Myth: Wukong
Metaphor: ReFantazio
Still Wakes the Deep
Thank Goodness You’re Here!

Technical Achievement
Astro Bot
Black Myth: Wukong
Call of Duty: Black Ops 6
Senua’s Saga: Hellblade II
Tiny Glade
Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2

Performer in a Leading Role
Alec Newman as Cameron ‘Caz’ McLeary in Still Wakes the Deep
Humberly González as Kay Vess in Star Wars Outlaws
Isabella Inchbald as Indika in INDIKA
Luke Roberts as James Sunderland in SILENT HILL 2
Melina Juergens as Senua in Senua’s Saga: Hellblade II
Y’lan Noel as Troy Marshall in Call of Duty: Black Ops 6

Performer in a Supporting Role
Abbi Greenland & Helen Goalen as The Furies in Senua’s Saga: Hellblade II
Aldís Amah Hamilton as Ástríðr in Senua’s Saga: Hellblade II
Jon Blyth as Big Ron in Thank Goodness You’re Here!
Karen Dunbar as Finlay in Still Wakes the Deep
Matt Berry as Herbert the Gardner in Thank Goodness You’re Here!
Michael Abubakar as Brodie in Still Wakes the Deep

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‘The heartbeat of Blondie’: Drummer Clem Burke dies aged 70

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'The heartbeat of Blondie': Drummer Clem Burke dies aged 70

Blondie drummer Clem Burke has died at the age of 70

The band said Blurke had been diagnosed with cancer, and described his death as a “profound loss”.

He featured on all the Debbie Harry-fronted group’s studio albums since joining a year after their formation in 1975.

Blurke was with the band from their self-titled debut, through their 1978 classic Parallel Lines, to 2017’s Pollinator.

Drummer Clem Burke.
Pic: Reuters
Image:
Drummer Burke.
Pic: Reuters

In a statement on Blondie’s Instagram, Harry and the band’s guitarist, Chris Stein, said: “It is with profound sadness that we relay news of the passing of our beloved friend and bandmate Clem Burke following a private battle with cancer.

“Clem was not just a drummer, he was the heartbeat of Blondie.

“His talent, energy, and passion for music were unmatched, and his contributions to our sound and success are immeasurable.

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“Beyond his musicianship, Clem was a source of inspiration both on and off the stage. His vibrant spirit, infectious enthusiasm and rock solid work ethic touched everyone who had the privilege of knowing him.

“Clem’s influence extended far beyond Blondie, a self-proclaimed ‘rock and roll survivalist’, he played and collaborated with numerous iconic artists.”

Clem Burke drummer of the band Blondie in his performance at Festival Estereo Picnic 2023.
Pic: AP
Image:
Burke in his performance at Festival Estereo Picnic 2023.
Pic: AP

Burke featured on Iggy Pop’s 1982 album Zombie Birdhouse and also performed with Bob Dylan, The Ramones, The Who guitarist Pete Townshend and Joan Jett.

The statement went on to say Burke had left an “indelible mark on every project he was part of”.

It added: “We extend our deepest condolences to Clem’s family, friends, and fans around the world. His legacy will live on through the tremendous amount of music he created and the countless lives he touched.”

Burke, who performed on classic tracks such as Call Me, Heart Of Glass and One Way Or Another, made his final live appearance with Blondie last year.

Read more from Sky News:
King arrives in Rome for Italy tour with Queen after health concerns

Global bank chiefs hold talks over Trump tariffs crisis

Blondie performs during Glastonbury Festival in Worthy Farm, Somerset, England, Sunday, June 25, 2023.  
Pic: Invision/AP
Image:
Blondie performing during Glastonbury Festival in 2023.
Pic: Invision/AP

Among those paying tribute to him was Kinks guitarist Dave Davies, who said: “I feel saddened that Clem Burke was taken from us so soon.

“May he rest in peace, spectacular drumming, we were friends.”

Nancy Sinatra said: “My heart is shattered. Clem became an icon as a member of Blondie, but he was also an important part of my band, the K.A.B. I was blessed to call him my friend.

“If I ever needed him, he was there. Always. Sending healing prayers and comfort to his widow, Ellen, his family, and all who loved him.”

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