NEWSMAKERS

NEWSMAKERS

‘From Afar’ wins Golden Lion at Venice

VENICE, Italy

Venezuelan director Lorenzo Vigas’ powerful Caracas-set drama “From Afar” won the Venice Film Festival’s top Golden Lion prize Saturday, as filmmakers from the Americas beat established European directors for the main trophies.

The runner-up Grand Jury Prize went to an American film, Charlie Kaufman and Duke Johnson’s inventive, animated “Anomalisa.” And Pablo Trapero’s “El Clan” [“The Clan”], an Argentine true-crime thriller that has broken box-office records in its homeland, took the Silver Lion for best direction.

“From Afar” – “Desde Alla” in Spanish – is Vigas’ first fiction feature and charts the unexpected relationship between a middle-age, middle-class man and a violent street youth. Quietly but powerfully, the film maps the currents of sex, money and violence beneath the surface of Venezuelan society.

Vigas dedicated his prize to his country, which is experiencing political and economic turbulence.

“We are having some problems, but we are very positive,” he said. “We are an amazing nation.”

The director said movies could help Latin America “learn from the mistakes of the past.”

Former radio host files lawsuit against Swift

DENVER

A former Denver radio personality has filed a lawsuit against singer Taylor Swift, saying he lost his job after being accused of inappropriately touching Swift during a photo session.

The lawsuit was filed Thursday in U.S. District court in Denver by David Mueller.

The lawsuit says Mueller was falsely accused by one of Swift’s security team of grabbing the singer’s buttocks backstage at the Pepsi Center on June 2, 2013.

It says Mueller was fired two days later from his job at KYGO radio.

The lawsuit says Mueller denies inappropriate contact with Swift and noted that he had met many other celebrities without incident.

Clarkson cancels several tour dates

VIENNA, Va.

Kelly Clarkson is canceling several upcoming tour dates this month, saying doctors told her to rest her voice.

Clarkson announced the cancellation of performances starting with shows in Vienna, Va., on Saturday and today. She is also canceling shows in Tampa and West Palm Beach, Fla.; Raleigh, N.C.; and Camden, N.J.

Her tour says all tickets will be refunded at the original point of purchase.

Clarkson tweeted that she is “bummed” and “can’t wait to get heathy.”

Associated Press