Son of Babylon

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Bombs are still going off in Baghdad, but one Iraqi filmmaker hasn’t let that stop production on his new feature film Son of Babylon. Mohammed Al Daradji tells host Marco Werman about his new project that’s been selected to screen at the Sundance Film Festival next month. Download MP3 (Photo: Movie still from Son of Babylon)

• Son of Babylon film information
• Son of Babylon’s Facebook page

Iraqi film festival

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Some Iraqi film-makers have decided to use the visible scars of violence as a backdrop for a film festival. Screenings are being held on the very sites of some of the deadliest bombings to hit Baghdad in recent months. Anchor Marco Werman speaks with one of the organizers, Husam Al Shara.

“Win in China”

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Entrepreneurship is no longer a dirty word in China. Select businessmen, and a handful of women are now held up as powerful icons. In China’s major cities these days, highway billboards featuring real estate and tech moguls who emerged from poverty have replaced many of the massive tributes to Chairman Mao and heroic workers. Filmmaker Ole Schell traveled to the city of Weifang in Shandong province, to profile an up-and-coming lingerie baron and a member of a new generation of high-profile Chinese entrepreneurs. Photo: Ole Schell Download MP3

• Watch the trailer to “Win in China”
• “Win in China” website

Video of Anne Frank

For today’s Geo Quiz we’re gliding on a Dutch canal. We’re looking for the name of the longest of Amsterdam’s canals. This canal cuts right through the center of the city. And it has a regal name.

World Books Review: Start Making Sense

The prolific Yoko Tawada has a considerable reputation in Europe: her writing — novels, plays, poems, essays, and short stories — has garnered a number of awards, including the Akutagawa Prize and the Goethe Medal.

Cannes on a budget (6:00)

Anchor Marco Werman speaks with film critic Lisa Nesselson about the line-up at this year’s Cannes Film Festival and how the film industry’s most lavish event is keeping its shine amidst the global economic downturn.

Global Hit (5:15)

The World’s Adeline Sire tells us about “Paris 36,” a movie that harks back to the golden age of Adeline Sire, with lavish sets and music. It also explores the labor unrest that rocked France in the 1930s.