She’s played the blushing bride in "Mamma Mia!" and the sidekick to the high-school bully in "Mean Girls". Now Amanda Seyfried takes on the role of Ann Lee, the 18th-century religious leader who founded the Shaker movement in the United States. Eve Jackson hears from Seyfried about the role at the Paris premiere of The Testament of Ann Lee. We also check in with ambassadors of Tuareg culture, Tinariwen, as they return with their 10th album and embark on a European tour. And, we hear from the team behind a powerful new animation telling the story of a child soldier travelling through Guinea, Sierra Leone and Liberia in "Allah Is Not Obliged".

Winners of a Grammy Award in 2011, Tinariwen are back with their 10th album, "Hoggar", marking a career that spans 45 years. The album is a return to their roots for these passionate defenders of nomadic culture and their people. Sonia Patricelli and Aurore Dupuis report.

As he takes on the presidency of PEN America, Dinaw Mengestu explains why defending a plurality of voices is crucial at a time of censorship and revisionism. He also discusses how the organisation is working to rebuild its credibility after criticism over its failure to condemn the war in Gaza in 2023. The award-winning author’s fourth novel, “Someone Like Us”, has just been published in France, and Mengestu tells us about the personal elements he has woven into this story of an Ethiopian-American grappling with his identity. We also discuss the immigrant experience in the United States and why notions of “us” and “them” remain such divisive forces in public debate.

Jessie Buckley takes the title role in Maggie Gyllenhaal’s 21st-century retelling of a 1930s silent movie, and film critic Emma Jones explains why her performance alone is worth the ticket price. We also discuss some of the criticism the film has received for its feminist stance and assess Christian Bale’s turn as the lab-made monster. Actor-director Andrea di Stefano offers a very personal story in "Il Maestro", plunging us into the Italian tennis scene of the 1980s, with Pierfrancesco Favino as a troubled, charismatic coach. Meanwhile, Cherien Dabis’ sweeping epic "All That’s Left of You" sees the actor-director weaving her own family story into eight decades of Palestinian struggle. And Ryan Gosling pulls out all the stops in the blockbuster "Project Hail Mary", as he attempts to save the Earth and ends up befriending an alien ally.

“The Bechdel Test” started as a joke in one of her comic strips before becoming one of the most famous measures of gender representation in film. Now, acclaimed American cartoonist Alison Bechdel has joined forces with French critic Iris Brey for their new essay, “La Véritable Histoire du test de Bechdel”. FRANCE 24’s Charli James speaks with Bechdel about the true story behind the test, how it feels when your name becomes more famous than you, and how she uses humour to empower the queer community in the Trump era.

As the conflict in the Middle East engulfs Lebanon, with air strikes and evacuation orders once again shaking the foundations of society, we hear from Wissam Charaf and Zeid Hamdan, two Lebanese artists grappling with this moment of crisis. Filmmaker Wissam Charaf joins us by video link from Beirut to reflect on the past seven years and how they have driven many artists to flee the country.

As war shakes their home country, Iranians of the diaspora in Paris have raised their voices, calling for peace, solidarity and a sustainable transition from autocracy. 

Ben Croll and Dheepthika Laurent look at the all the winners – and losers – from the César awards ceremony in Paris, including Richard Linklater's "Nouvelle Vague" and the moving family drama "The Ties That Bind Us". Ben takes us through the highlights of the evening, including a lifetime achievement award for actor Jim Carrey and Iranian-French actress Golshifteh Farahani's tribute to Iranian protesters.

After four decades away from French stages, the Dance Theatre of Harlem is back in Paris – and making history once again. On arts24, Eve Jackson sits down with dancers Alexandra Hutchinson and Lindsey Donnell as they bring the company's groundbreaking legacy to the Palais des Congrès de Paris. Born in 1969 in the wake of Martin Luther King Jr's assassination, the company was founded on a belief: ballet belongs to everyone.

In this edition of our film show, critic Emma Jones talks to Eve Jackson about the latest film releases, including "The History of Sound" from director Oliver Hermanus. It stars Paul Mescal and Josh O'Connor as two men who fall in love in the shadow of World War I. The film premiered in competition at Cannes to lukewarm reviews, but Emma argues its quiet, repressed portrayal of a gay relationship shaped by its era is exactly what gives it emotional force.