On today’s music show on Arts24, Jennifer Ben Brahim chats with a pioneering superstar of classical soul. Alexis Ffrench has over 1 billion streams and multiple number 1 albums. The British pianist and composer even performed at King Charles III’s coronation celebrations in 2023. He’s known for redefining the boundaries of classical music, such as on his most recent album “Classical Soul Vol. 1”. On this record, he revisits his childhood influences like Aretha Franklin, Sam Cooke and the late Roberta Flack. He’s set to release “Classical Soul Vol. 1 – The Solo Piano Collection” and is continuing his tour around Europe.

Journalist and filmmaker Shiori Ito has laid her life bare in “Black Box Diaries”, as the film documents her battle for justice after she accused a prominent TV executive of raping her in 2015. Following its nomination for an Academy Award, the film has come to worldwide attention; the culture of silence in Japan surrounding sexual assault has been under scrutiny. Shiori joins us to talk about being the first Japanese director to be nominated for best documentary at the Oscars and about how her persistent campaigning has resulted in the legal definition of rape being revised in her home country. We discuss why Japan has not yet had its MeToo moment and why telling complex stories on screen has been a career-defining experience for her. 

She was an icon of 1990’s television; now Pamela Anderson is embarking on a new phase in her career, as she stars in "The Last Showgirl". Film critic Emma Jones sat down with her at the Zurich film festival where they discussed her critically-acclaimed performance as a Las Vegas cabaret performer and how facing her fears is opening up new professional opportunities for the actress. And, we meet London-based artist Lakwena Maciver, whose artwork blends vibrant colours and bold statements. Finally, the Pompidou Centre mothballs its permanent collection before undergoing extensive renovations to the building.

Critic Perrine Quennesson takes us through the latest releases in the world of French cinema, with two family stories that transport us to convincing versions of France in the 1960s and 1990s. “My Mother, God, And Sylvie Vartan” tells the story of a devoted mother, played by Leïla Bekhti, who is prepared to move mountains for her son. Meanwhile “Queen Mom” charts an immigrant family’s experience as they come up against stereotypes about North Africans and attempt to overcome the obstacles planted in their path; the film also offers a comical and fantastical take on one of the bogeymen of French history classes. A volcano on the brink of eruption in Guadeloupe distils social and political tensions in “Magma” and we discuss Thierry Frémaux’s love letter to the Lumière brothers, as he documents the birth of cinema and its modern conventions. 

The French capital’s diverse venues are once again the backdrop for ready-to-wear collections, with local and international labels presenting their looks. Fashion critic Samantha Tse takes us through the highlights and introduces us to British designer Sarah Burton, who is the newly appointed creative director at Givenchy. Stars from the worlds of cinema and fashion were in attendance at the Louvre’s gala dinner, as the Parisian museum raises more than €1 million for its upcoming refurbishments. And we go through some of the stand-out silhouettes from Chloé, Courrèges, Alaïa and Dior and discuss a fashion pop-up aiming to pamper our cashmere sweaters.

This week we welcome Icelandic folk artist Árný Margrét who has just released her new album  "I Miss You, I Do". Her award winning debut ("They Only Talk About The Weather") garnered rave reviews and fans across the world and led her to tour the US extensively. The states contrasted wildly with her native country and inspired her song-writing and she recorded much of her second album in the US. We also chat to neo-soul artist Greentea Peng about her soon to be released introspective album "Tell Dem It's Sunny" for which she's about to tour Europe and take a look at K-pop rapper Jennie's (Black Pink) debut album "Ruby".

Wax print fabrics or Ankara fabrics are known for their graphic patterns, bold colours and catchy slogans. The iconic cloth is now being celebrated in an exhibition at the Musée de l’Homme in Paris, where curators have been exploring its anthropological, social and political role on the African continent and beyond. Kenyan artist Thandiwe Muriu joins us to talk about the fabric’s function in her striking portraits, and how she uses textiles to explore identity, aesthetics and her own place in society. Thandiwe tells us how clothes and the messages they send can empower and emancipate women, and we discuss the use of traditional motifs in contemporary fashion, as African prints seduce designers all over the world. 

Majda, Monika and Heidi are part of the Panorama theatre troupe in the village of El Barsha, a small Coptic Christian community in the south of Egypt. As they devise and perform plays in the street, filmmakers Nada Riyadh and Ayman El Amir follow the young women, who are negotiating the moment between adolescence and adulthood, contemplating their destinies and their dreams. “The Brink of Dreams” won the L'Œil d'or prize at the Cannes Film Festival. We speak to director Nada Riyadh about the power of female solidarity, how street theatre shifted mentalities in villages and the importance of cultural role models for women and girls in Egypt.

After the commercial and critical success of "Parasite", South Korean director Bong Joon-ho has adopted a very different tone for his sci-fi comedy "Mickey 17". Film critic Ben Croll tells us why Robert Pattinson is very good at acting alongside multiple selves, and how the movie's overblown atmosphere sits within Bong's body of work. We also discuss the atmospheric film "Black Dog", from Chinese director Guan Hu, which takes place in a ghost town in the Gobi Desert and we learn about the phenomenal success of "Ne Zha 2" as the children’s movie becomes the highest-grossing animated feature of all time. Plus French filmmaker Marie Losier delivers a poignant portrait of creativity, aging and performance in her documentary "Peaches Goes Bananas" as she profiles the Canadian musician Peaches over almost two decades.

Taiwanese-American comedy sensation Atsuko Okatsuka speaks to Eve Jackson about building a global fan base with her offbeat humour, her viral dance routines with her grandmother and her groundbreaking HBO special "The Intruder", which solidified her as a comedy star. They also dive into the Parisian audience's unexpected liveliness during her latest show "Full Grown" and how she accidentally created the viral Drop Challenge that had everyone from Serena Williams to Kerry Washington squatting to Beyoncé. Tune in to hear more about her rise in comedy, the challenges she's faced, and what audiences can expect from her upcoming shows in the US and on Disney+.