The best things to do and see (or watch) in Europe this week
The summer of Swifties remains in full swing, but for everyone else, the cultural focus is on festivals, more festivals and, checks notes, Facehuggers (Alien: Romulus is out - more on that below).
For anyone based in or visiting Brussels this weekend, the historical Flower Carpet that covers the Grand-Place every two years will be on view until 18 August, while we'd also recommend watching John Cassavetes' A Woman Under The Influence (1974) in honour of Gena Rowlands, who died this week aged 94.
Exhibitions
'Madrid, An Almodóvar Girl' at the Conde Duque Cultural Centre (Madrid, Spain)
The beating heart of nearly every Pedro Almodóvar is Madrid. The Spanish director, who is due to receive a lifetime achievement award at the San Sebastián Film Festival, and will premier his first English-language film, The Room Next Door, at the upcoming Venice Film Festival, is also celebrating 50 years of his career: Almodóvar's first short film, Dos putas, o, Historia de amor que termina en boda (Two Whores, or, A Love Story that Ends in Marriage) was released in 1974. Madrid has played an integral backdrop to many of Almodóvar's films, with the very location of this new exhibition - the Conde Duque Cultural Centre - appearing in Law of Desire (1987). Over 200 photographs from the director's films will be on display in an exploration of his relationship with the Spanish capital city, and the ways in which it influences and characterises the tone and mood of his works.
'Peter Cushing' exhibition at Whitstable Community Museum & Gallery (Whitstable, UK)
English actor Peter Cushing was, and still remains, an icon of Hammer horror movies. Appearing in more than 100 films over a career that spanned 60 years, he was most famous for his roles as Victor Frankenstein and Dracula's Doctor Van Helsing, appearing in a total of twenty-two Hammer Studio films. The actor lived in Whitstable, a small town in England, for 35 years with his wife Helen Cushing - making its Community Museum & Gallery the perfect setting for a new exhibition dedicated to his life and career. Things on show include a life-sized cast of his face that was used for prosthetics in Top Secret! (1984), a head sculpture of him as Gran Moff Tarkin in Star Wars, and and a selection of Cushing's personal art. It's a must visit for Cushing and Hammer horror fans alike that will, in the words of Baron Frankenstein, "give you life again". Ends in September 2025, so you've got plenty of time.
Festivals and events
??Edinburgh art festival
The Fringe isn't the only big cultural event taking place in Edinburgh right now - there's also it's annual art festival, on until 25 August 2024. Founded twenty years ago, it populates the city with a plethora of fascinating shows, aiming to platform Scottish and international emerging visual artists. Highlights include Karol Radziszewski's show 'Filo', which is centred around Filo Magazine, one of the first LGBTQ+ magazines in Central and Eastern Europe, and a moving retrospective of Scottish artist Adam Bruce Thomson's works that features over 100 of his artworks on display. The majority of events are free to attend, too, making it a great alternative to the very pricey Fringe - although on that topic, Euronews Culture's Jonny Walfisz has put together a handy guide for navigating that festival on the cheap if you're thinking of attending both.
Sarajevo Film Fest (Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina)
Founded in 1995, The Sarajevo Film Festival is the leading film and TV festival in the Balkans, putting a spotlight on underrepresented South-Eastern European filmmakers. Neatly sandwiched between Locarno and the upcoming Venice Film Festival, it takes place from 17-22 August at the Swiss?tel in downtown Sarajevo. This year's lineup includes the return of last year's winner of the festival's directing prize, Philip Sotnychenko, with his Ukrainian war drama, Times New Roman. Bulgarian directing duo Mina Mileva and Vesela Kazakova bring Mather/Papan, a character study of an overweight woman that writes slogans for sex toys. Bosnian filmmaker Aida Begi?, whose film Children of Sarajevo won the Special Distinction award in the Cannes Un Certain Regard section in 2012, will show Air in a Bottle - about a woman helping to plan a wedding for her estranged daughter in an attempt to repair their relationship.
Green Man Festival (Bannau Brycheiniog, Wales)
There is no better way to "touch grass" than spending a long weekend in the lush Welsh mountains for annual indie music fest Green Man. Despite growing in popularity over the years, it's beloved for the way it's managed to remain feeling small and secret, with a genuine, non-corporate and community feel. This year's lineup includes Jon Hopkins, King Creosote, The Jesus & Mary Chain, Explosions in the Sky, Julia Holter, Devendra Banhart and much more. Cael hwyl!
Movies
Alien: Romulus
Facehuggers, assemble! It's time for some chest-busting action as we return to the world of Alien with a seventh addition to the series: Alien: Romulus, directed by Fede álvarez (Evil Dead - 2013). Set around 20 years after Ridley Scott’s original 1979 film, Rain (Cailee Spaeny) is our new Ripley, part of a young crew on an escape mission who find themselves faced with a whole lotta drooling Xenomorphs after discovering an abandoned space station they'd hoped would fuel their journey to a better place. "Alien: Romulus may be something of a franchise rejuvenation – as well as a damn good time at the talkies - but there are blemishes along the way," Euronews Culture's David Mouriquand writes. Read his full review here.
TV series
Emily in Paris (Netflix)
Similar to last week’s Love is Blind UK, 'Emily in Paris' is one of those shows you sometimes need after another long day of dealing with the endless existentialisms of having a human brain. Switch it off, switch this on: a show about a marketing executive named Emily (Lily Collins) navigating work, life and hot guys in the city of love after moving there from the US. Now in its fourth season, it’s much of the same - low stakes drama in a glossy and alluringly vapid-version of the world. Irritating? To some - but also undeniably comforting fast food TV for the soul. Side note: If you’re craving Paris-set content after the end of the Olympics, always go for Pixar’s Ratatouille.
Music
Rosie Lowe: 'Lover, Other'
In making her fourth album, Rosie Lowe let go of perfectionism. Packing a mini studio-setup in a suitcase, the 34-year-old singer travelled around various parts of Europe to make it - Florence, Berlin, London and her hometown of Devon. The tracks reflect this free flowing sense of adventure and creative abandon, moving between bubbly beats and smooth synths that, collectively, form a slinky soundscape akin to slipping into an unknown version of yourself, ready to embrace whatever follows.
