French rock and metal have been gaining prominence on the world stage. From Grammy-nominated Gojira playing the opening ceremony of the Paris 2024 Olympics to the country being home to one of the world's biggest Metal festivals, it's no surprise France has finally launched an official Rock and Metal chart. Arts24 looks at how the genre gained popularity with heavy metal band Mass Hysteria's bass player Jamie Ryan.

In this edition of arts24, Jennifer Ben Brahim chats with the first jazz act to ever win a Mercury Prize. Ezra Collective are one of the UK's most exciting improvisation groups, blending jazz with Afrobeat, reggae and soul. The quintet released their third album this autumn called "Dance, No One's Watching", a mission statement to get everybody on the dance floor.

They hit the headlines shortly after Islamist fundamentalists proclaimed a caliphate in Syria and Iraq: the young women who packed their bags and embarked upon a new life, unaware of the fate that would await them. A new film, "Rabia", imagines the journey of a young French recruit and her encounter with the notorious Madam known as the "Black Widow of ISIS". Plus, comic strip cowboy "Lucky Luke" celebrates 78 years as the most American of Belgian cartoon icons and we get a glimpse inside the home of the breathtaking art of flying trapeze: the Winter Circus in Paris.

Film critic Emma Jones tells us why Hugh Grant's creepy character is the star attraction in his latest film, "Heretic". We also discuss timely French feature "Animale", as Oulaya Amamra plays a woman trying to navigate the macho world of bull-running in the Camargue region, while grappling with personal trauma. Plus, Portuguese auteur Miguel Gomes returns with an international voyage that combines humour, romance and musings on a post-colonial world in "Grand Tour" and we check out Disney's big release for the holidays, "Moana 2".

British director Elizabeth Sankey bravely recounts her story of frightening isolation and unwanted thoughts after childbirth in her spellbinding documentary "Witches", which is out on Mubi. The film features interviews with medical professionals, historians and fellow sufferers, and uses old film footage showing pop cultural representation of witches. The director speaks to Eve Jackson about her own experience in a mother and baby psychiatric ward and shares her perspective on how women with mental health issues have been stigmatised and misunderstood over time.

In this arts24 music show, Jennifer Ben Brahim tells us about the big album release of the week: rapper Kendrick Lamar's "GNX". The surprise record pays homage to the California hip-hop artist’s roots, with a heavy dose of West Coast rap. The album comes as Lamar is set to perform at this year's Super Bowl halftime show, and ahead of the Grammy awards where he has seven nominations under his belt. Jennifer is also joined on set by the most British of French musicians, Maddy Street. The singer-songwriter and videographer grew up in Normandy, France with their British parents. Their music blends together rock, pop, rap and electro with autobiographical lyrics. They have just released their EP "Heart Choices" and are on tour around France.

He may have made a name for himself in light-hearted British rom-coms like "Four Weddings and a Funeral", "About a Boy" and "Notting Hill", but Hugh Grant has undergone a startling transformation over the last decade, rebranding himself as a character actor in darker roles. His latest outing in "Heretic" is certainly in that vein; FRANCE 24's culture editor Eve Jackson caught up with him at the film's Paris premiere, where he told her why playing the baddie is more fun. We also check out a new version of blockbuster musical "Les Misérables" as the production returns to the stage in Paris after more than 30 years, while photography exhibition "No Woman's Land" brings us the portraits and stories of the women living under what the UN has called "gender apartheid" since the Taliban came back to power in 2021.

The multi-faceted performer Dorothée Munyaneza has adapted Kae Tempest's play "Hopelessly Devoted" for the stage, in a French-language production at the Bouffes du Nord theatre. She tells us why she wanted to explore many different forms of love in her version "Inconditionelles", and how the emotion can be a powerful liberating force, whether it exists behind bars or in a time of war. The Rwandan-British artist also reflects on revisiting historical pain and injustice in her performances, the explosive potential of the young arts scene in Rwanda and the importance of injecting joy and beauty into her creations.

French director Michel Hazanavicius decided that an animated feature was the best approach for his latest film, which follows the trajectory of a baby thrown from a train headed for Auschwitz. Film critic Emma Jones tells us why the fairy-tale tone of "The Most Precious of Cargoes" adds to its poignancy, and why this fable is worth telling many decades later. We also discover an up-and-coming talent in French filmmaker Agathe Riedinger, as her Cannes début "Wild Diamond" impresses with its timely subject matter and specifically female insight. Plus we learn more about musician Pharrell Williams, as his life is rendered in Lego form in the documentary "Piece by Piece", while Afghan women tell their own story in "Bread and Roses", a courageous account of life under the Taliban.

After losing his home, along with countless friends and family, Palestinian poet Mosab Abu Toha escaped Gaza with his wife and three children. Now in exile, the award-winning writer is on a mission to share the stories of those left behind. He speaks to FRANCE 24’s Culture Editor, Eve Jackson, about documenting the situation through social media, publications like The New Yorker and The New York Times, and his poetry. Abu Toha is presenting his latest work, Forest of Noise, at Paris' Maison de la poésie as part of his tour. The collection, written since the October 7th attacks and the ongoing war in Gaza, explores the personal and collective impact of the conflict. His debut collection, Things You May Find Hidden in My Ear (2022), won multiple awards for its portrayal of life in Gaza.