just to live. and yet, here we are. seeing the right of our community members diminish. their voices are silenced, they re very identities denied. our nation has made great strides with filling the fundamental promises of freedom and equality for lgbtq plus americans, but lately something has changed. the arc of progress is bending in ways we did not think possible just five years ago. unjust ways. so far this year, more than 520 anti lgbtq bills have been introduced in state legislatures. that is a record. more than 220 of those bills, specifically, targeted transgender and non-binary people. also a record. and an unprecedented 70 anti lgbtq laws have been enacted just this year. in the past, we have put together pride specials celebrating lgbtq+ individuals and their achievements, first in the white house and then on the stage and screen. achievements that deserve to be celebrated. but tonight, as that progress is threatened like never before, we are going to do something d
you re watching bbc news. now it s time for the travel show, and stay tuned for newswatch. this week on the travel show. we ve got the struggle of equality being queer, and we ve got the struggle of equality being indigenous people in this country. ..how pride reaches the world s oldest cultures. you ll see the smell is close, but then the lands in the mouth is different. ..and a teetotal tipple in the land of wine. it s good, actually. i don t like it. hello there from sunny paris, where later on in the show, i ll be finding out whether the city of love is ready to relinquish its favourite drink, but first. ..we re off to sydney, which is celebrating 50 years since its first gay pride week, and five since same sex couples were given the same marriage rights as everyone else. so that s made this year s pride events all the more special, as jacqui wakefield s been finding out. the summer season in sydney, and everyone s out on the streets. it s the time of year the parks and o
good luck to superpower and the ukraine glory to ukraine. thank you. films dealing with ukraine have certainly been getting attention in berlin. although one or two trade publications described the sean penn documentary as awkwardly narcissistic and fawning, it was overall warmly received. and president zelensky and his team, who viewed it before the festival, liked it. his chief of staff tweeted that it was a great film. germany has been enjoying a very good year in cinema, especially with its anti war film, all quiet on the western front, picking up all kinds of accolades internationally. and here in berlin at the festival, there are five german films in competition. emma jones has been talking to one of her favorite film critics about the german offerings and other notable films in the festival line up. film critic kaleem aftab and i met during this year s berlinale to chat about the films we d seen, and we started off with the opening movie, rebecca miller s she came to
now on bbc news, talking movies: berlin film festival special. hello from berlin. i m tom brook, and welcome to talking movies. in today s programme, highlights from the berlin international film festival. over 11 days, some 280 films are shown, with big names from the world of cinema gathering here in the german capital. we sat down with sean penn, whose documentary superpower on president zelensky was one of the festival s big attractions. british acting royalty was in town, with dame helen mirren portraying israeli prime minister golda meir. cate blanchett, oscar nominated for her performance in tar, walked the red carpet, as did steven spielberg, at the festival for a lifetime achievement award. and we look at queer cinema in berlin, which was making quite an impact. berlin has a long history of embracing political cinema. it is an avowedly political film festival. and this year, because the first anniversary of russia s invasion of ukraine took place during the festival,
judicial reform plans. hello and welcome to bbc news. we start with the news that the celebrated british tv presenter and comedian paul o grady has died at the age of 67. in a statement, his partner andre portasio said he passed away unexpectedly but peacefully on tuesday evening and thanked fans for all the love they have shown him over the years . paul o grady first came to fame as a drag artist before becoming a talk show presenter. our entertainment correspondent lizo mzimba looks back at his life and career. he first came to fame as the charismatic drag queen lily savage. the act, honed in a succession of pubs, had to be toned down for tv but it was as acerbic and acid tongued as ever. so i m stood having a drink and i looked over and here s ulrika walked in the door, wearing the same frock as me. i didn t even know she had a littlewoods catalogue, i was flaming. lily fast became an audience favourite, hosting some of tv s best known shows. it s thursday, it s 7pm, it