Iranian filmmaker Jafar Panahi has been jailed, gone on hunger strike and even sold his house to pay bail – all for the right to make movies. After winning the Palme d'Or at Cannes and being selected to represent France at the Oscars, he's now releasing his new film "It Was Just an Accident", inspired by his own imprisonment. In this interview, Panahi explains to Eve Jackson why every film is worth the risk.

If you're a fan of gospel, soul and folk with a vintage pop vibe, you'll love the work of Natalie Bergman, who has just released her second solo album "My Home Is Not In This World" on Jack White's Third Man Records. The record can be seen as a rebirth following her stunning but grief-stricken first album. This new offering explores past loves and aims to bring comfort and reassurance in these complicated times. She popped by FRANCE 24 to tell Marjorie Hache more about the record and the music videos that beautifully accompany it. We also meet Ireland's rising pop star CMAT, who has just released a new album "Euro-Country" and we take a look at Spark's new EP "Madder!" 

"Art is my way of turning pain into hope." Those are the words of Gaza-based photographer Belal Khaled, whose images have been seen by millions and published in Time, the Guardian and The Wall Street Journal. His work, along with that of 10 other Gaza-based photographers, is at the heart of a powerful new exhibition at P21 Gallery in London, titled "Against Erasure: Photographs from Gaza." In a war where foreign reporters have been banned from Gaza, these photojournalists risk their lives to document what's happening and ensure their stories are not silenced.

Their debut album "Enter the Wu-Tang (36 Chambers)" changed the course of East Coast hip-hop in 1993, with its lyrical acrobatics delivered by a charismatic collective of MCs. Thirty years later, the Wu-Tang Clan have taken to the stage of the immense Red Rocks amphitheatre, accompanied by the Colorado Symphony orchestra, for a historical concert that is at the centre of "A Wu-Tang experience: Live at Red Rocks". Its director, Gerald Barclay, and founder of the Wu-Tang clan RZA join arts24 to discuss this major moment in the group's history.

From a Tunisian beauty contest to starring in Fellini's masterpieces, Claudia Cardinale's dazzling career shaped European cinema's golden age. Join us on arts24 as film critic Emma Jones and Eve Jackson celebrate the legacy of Italy's unforgettable sweetheart, an accidental star who became a legend. Don't miss this tribute to a true cinematic icon.

In this episode of arts24, coinciding with the 200th anniversary of the first passenger train, award-winning travel writer Monisha Rajesh joins Eve Jackson to share her immersive, rail-bound adventures across continents. Her latest book, "Moonlight Express: Around the World by Night Train", takes readers on 18 unforgettable journeys – from sipping pisco sours aboard Peru's Andean Explorer to watching the sunrise over Istanbul's skyline.

On today’s music show on Arts24, Jennifer Ben Brahim sits down with Chicago-born, New York-based singer, songwriter, and producer KeiyaA. Known for her gossamer vocals and genre-blending sound – mixing jazz, soul, and electro – KeiyaA made waves with her debut album Forever, Ya Girl, earning critical acclaim and fans like Solange, Jay-Z, and Moses Sumney. Five years later, she returns with her sophomore album Hooke’s Law, a deeply personal journey of self-love that serves as a musical diary of one of the most challenging periods of her life.

The Cathedral’s bell towers were the last part of the site to reopen to the public following extensive renovations after the 2019 fire that devastated large parts of the building. French President Emmanuel Macron inaugurated the bell towers ahead of the European Heritage Days, when the cathedral will be fully accessible once again. FRANCE 24’s Aurore Cloé Dupuis visited to get a preview of one of the best views in Paris. We also explore other architectural gems opening their doors this weekend, including a chocolate workshop led by one of France’s finest chefs.

Israeli director Nadav Lapid joins Arts24 to discuss “Yes”, his most daring film yet, released this week in France after a powerful premiere at Cannes. Shot in Israel during the war in Gaza and completed under rocket fire, the film follows a musician tasked with composing a patriotic anthem after October 7. With cast and crew walking off set, “Yes”was shaped by real-time tensions both on and off screen. Blending biting satire with deep emotional undercurrents, the film explores the complex roles of artists and citizens during national trauma. Lapid reflects on creative freedom, identity, and the challenge of telling hard truths in turbulent times.

French pop star Mylène Farmer makes a rare appearance as the voice of an AI-powered virtual assistant in "Dalloway", which deals with some of the darker sides of creativity in Yann Gozlan's latest film. Manon Kerjean, the founder of Lost in Translation, a film club screening French features in Paris for non-French speakers, joins us to discuss the merits of this "Black Mirror"-adjacent movie. We also discuss Pierre Schoeller's psychological thriller "Rembrandt" and reflect on the complexities at the centre of the troubled relationship between Yves Montand and Simone Signoret, as the actress and singer's lives are examined by Diane Kurys in "C'est Si Bon". And Manon flags up a Maurice Pialat retrospective at the Cinémathèque Française that provides an insight into the iconoclastic French filmmaker.