Sean Penn
Sean Justin Penn is an American actor and political activist. He has won two Academy Awards, for his roles in the mystery drama Mystic River and the biopic Milk, Penn began his acting career in television with a brief appearance in episode 112 of Little House on the Prairie, directed by his father Leo Penn. He became known as a prominent leading actor with the drama Dead Man Walking, for which he earned his first Academy Award nomination, Penn made his feature film directorial debut with The Indian Runner, followed by the drama film The Crossing Guard and the mystery film The Pledge. Penn directed one of the 11 segments of 110901 September 11 and his fourth feature film, the biographical drama survival movie Into the Wild, garnered critical acclaim and two Academy Award nominations. In January 2016, Penn published an interview with Mexican drug lord Joaquín El Chapo Guzmán in Rolling Stone, Penn was born in Los Angeles County, California, to actor and director Leo Penn, and actress Eileen Ryan.
His older brother is musician Michael Penn and his younger brother, actor Chris Penn, died in 2006. His paternal grandparents were Ashkenazi Jewish emigrants from Lithuania and Russia, while his mother is a Catholic of Irish, Penn was raised in a secular home and attended Santa Monica High School. He began making films with some of his childhood friends, including actors Emilio Estevez and Charlie Sheen. Penn appeared in a 1974 episode of the Little House on the Prairie television series as an extra when his father, Penn launched his film career with the action-drama Taps, where he played a military high school cadet. A year later, he appeared in the hit comedy Fast Times at Ridgemont High, in the role of surfer-stoner Jeff Spicoli, Penn appeared as Mick OBrien, a troubled youth, in the drama Bad Boys. The role earned Penn favorable reviews and jump-started his career as a serious actor, Penn played Andrew Daulton Lee in the film The Falcon and the Snowman, which closely followed an actual criminal case.
Lee was a drug dealer by trade, convicted of espionage for the Soviet Union and originally sentenced to life in prison. Penn starred in the drama At Close Range which received critical acclaim and he stopped acting for a few years in the early 1990s, having been dissatisfied with the industry, and focused on making his directing debut. The Academy Awards first recognized his work in nominating him for playing a racist murderer on death row in the drama film Dead Man Walking and he was nominated again for his comedic performance as an egotistical jazz guitarist in the film Sweet and Lowdown. He received his nomination after portraying a mentally handicapped father in I am Sam. Penn finally won for his role in the Boston crime-drama Mystic River, in 2004, Penn played Samuel Bicke, a character based on Samuel Byck, who in 1974 attempted and failed to assassinate President Richard Nixon, in The Assassination of Richard Nixon. The same year, he was invited to join the Academy of Motion Picture Arts, Penn portrayed governor Willie Stark in an adaptation of Robert Penn Warrens classic 1946 American novel All the Kings Men.
The film was a critical and commercial failure, named by a 2010 Forbes article as the biggest flop in the last five years, the film earned Penn his fifth nomination and second win for the Academy Award for Best Actor
Palme d'Or
The Palme dOr is the highest prize awarded at the Cannes Film Festival. It was introduced in 1955 by the organising committee, from 1939 to 1954, the highest prize was the Grand Prix du Festival International du Film. In 1964, it was replaced again by the Grand Prix du Festival before being reintroduced in 1974 as the Palme dOr again. In 1954, the Jury of the Festival de Cannes suggested giving an award titled the Grand Prix of the International Film Festival with a new design each year from a contemporary artist. At the end of 1954, the Festivals Board of Directors invited several jewellers to submit designs for a palm, in tribute to the coat of arms of the City of Cannes. The original design by the jeweller Lucienne Lazon had the lower extremity of the stalk forming a heart. In 1955, the first Palme dOr was awarded to Delbert Mann for Marty, and it remained the highest award until 1964, as of 2015, Jane Campion is the only female director to have won the Palme dOr, for The Piano. These choices were due to a Cannes policy that forbids the Palme dOr-winning film from receiving any additional awards, according to Spielberg, Had the casting been 3% wrong, it wouldnt have worked like it did for us.
Since its reintroduction, the prize has been redesigned several times, at the beginning of the 1980s, the rounded shape of the pedestal, bearing the palm, gradually transformed to become pyramidal in 1984. In 1992 Thierry de Bourqueney redesigned the Palme and its pedestal in hand-cut crystal, the current design, first presented in 1997, is by Caroline Scheufele from Chopard. A single piece of cut crystal forms a cushion for the 24-carat gold palm, the winner of the 2014 Palme dOr, Winter Sleep—a Turkish film by Nuri Bilge Ceylan—occurred during the same year as the 100th anniversary of Turkish cinema. Note, The Palme dOr for Union Pacific was awarded in retrospect at the 2002 festival, the festivals debut was to take place in 1939, but it was cancelled due to World War II. The organisers of the 2002 festival presented part of the original 1939 selection to a jury of six members. The films were, Goodbye Mr. Chips, La Piste du Nord, Lenin in 1918, The Four Feathers, The Wizard of Oz, Union Pacific, and Boefje.
In 2011 the festival announced that the award would be given out annually, however plans for this fell through, american director Woody Allen was the inaugural recipient while pioneering French filmmaker Agnès Varda was the first woman to receive the award in 2015. In 2016 Jean-Pierre Léaud became the first person to be awarded solely for acting. com Cannes Film Festival IMDB
Ordre des Arts et des Lettres
Its purpose is the recognition of significant contributions to the arts, literature, or the propagation of these fields. Its origin is attributed to the Order of Saint-Michel as acknowledged by French government sources, membership is not, limited to French nationals, recipients include numerous foreign luminaries. Foreign recipients are admitted into the Order, without condition of age, the Order has three grades, Commandeur — medallion worn on necklet, up to twenty recipients a year. Officier — medallion worn on ribbon with rosette on left breast, chevalier — medallion worn on ribbon on left breast, up to 200 recipients a year. The reverse central disc features the head of Marianne on a golden background, the Commanders badge is topped by a gilt twisted ring. The ribbon of the Order is green with four white stripes, however, in the statutes there is a clause saying Les Officiers et les Commandeurs de la Légion dhonneur peuvent être directement promus à un grade équivalent dans lOrdre des Arts et des Lettres.
Ribbons of the French military and civil awards Ordre des arts et des lettres du Québec, a Quebec order based in part on the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres Nominations dans lOrdre des Arts et Lettres
Matthias Schoenaerts
Matthias Schoenaerts is a Belgian actor, film producer and graffiti artist of Flemish origin. He made his debut at the age of 13 in Daens. Schoenaerts received critical acclaim for his portrayal of an ex-soldier suffering from PTSD in Disorder, in 2015, he was named Knight of the Order of Arts and Letters in France. Schoenaerts was born in Antwerp, the Flemish region of Belgium and he is the son of actor Julien Schoenaerts and Dominique Wiche, a costume designer and French teacher. He has a half brother, Bruno Schoenaerts, who is a lawyer. Schoenaerts grew up bilingual speaking Dutch and French and he is fluent in English, which he learned by watching American movies. In 1987, at nine years old, he appeared on a production of Antoine de Saint-Exupérys The Little Prince opposite his father. His mother, was the designer of the play. He started producing graffiti as a teenager under the pseudonym Zenith and it is possible to watch some videos of Schoenaerts doing graffiti in Belgium on YouTube. Schoenaerts was close to becoming a soccer player and was on the books of Belgian team Beerschot AC.
In 2013, Schoenaerts stated that he is a fan of Spanish football club FC Barcelona, at the age of 13, Schoenaerts made his film debut with a small role in the 1992 Belgian film Daens, which was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film. His father starred in the film but they did not share any scenes together, in 2003, Schoenaerts was named one of Europes Shooting Stars by the European Film Promotion. After completing studies at The Academy of Dramatic Arts in Antwerp, he featured in several shorts, in 2006, Schoenaerts played Dennis in Hilde Van Mieghems Love Belongs to Everyone, and had a small role as a member of the Dutch resistance in Paul Verhoevens Black Book. In 2007, he starred in Ben van Lieshouts film De Muze, in the same year, Schoenaerts starred in the mini-series The Emperor of Taste, playing a Belgian soldier in World War II. In 2009, he starred in Dorothée Van Den Berghes My Queen Karo, in 2010, he played the lead role in Alex Stockmans Techno-thriller Pulsar, and had a cameo in Franck Richards La Meute.
In 2011, Schoenaerts starred in the Dutch films The Gang of Oss, in 2011, Schoenaerts played the lead role in Bullhead, directed by Michaël R. Roskam, which was nominated for the Best Foreign Language Oscar. His performance in the film was received and won him the FIPRESCI Award for best actor at the Palm Springs International Film Festival in January 2012. The jury praised the actors portrayal of an innocent and sensitive man trapped in a truculent body
Kursk submarine disaster
Nearby ships registered the initial explosion and a second, much larger, explosion two minutes and fifteen seconds later, which was powerful enough to register on seismographs as far away as Alaska. The Russian Navy did not realise that the sub had sunk, because the emergency rescue buoy had been intentionally disabled, it took more than 16 hours for them to locate the sunken ship. Over four days the Russian Navy used four different diving bells, the navys response was criticised as slow and inept. The Russian Navy offered a variety of reasons for the sinking, including publicly blaming the accident on a collision with a NATO submarine. On the fifth day, President Vladimir Putin authorized the navy to accept British, seven days after the submarine went down, Norwegian divers finally opened a hatch to the escape trunk in the ships ninth compartment, hoping to locate survivors, but found it flooded. The initial explosion destroyed the room, ignited a fire, severely damaged the control room, incapacitated or killed the control room crew.
The intense fire resulting from explosion in turn triggered the detonation of between five and seven torpedo warheads after the submarine struck bottom. This second explosion was equivalent to between 2 and 3 tonnes of TNT, combined with poor oversight and incomplete inspections, the sailors initiated a set of events that led to the explosion. Following salvage operations, analysts concluded that 23 sailors in the sixth through ninth compartments had survived the two explosions, all 118 personnel—111 crew members, five officers from 7th SSGN Division Headquarters, and two design engineers—aboard Kursk died. The investigation concluded the Russian Navy was completely unprepared to respond to the disaster, the following year, a Dutch team was contracted by the Russians to raise the hull. Employing newly developed lifting technologies, they recovered all but the bow of the vessel, including the remains of 115 sailors, more than two years after the sinking, the Russian government completed a 133-volume, top-secret investigation of the disaster.
The government released a summary to the public that was published in Rossiyskaya Gazeta. It revealed stunning breaches of discipline, shoddy and poorly maintained equipment, and negligence, the report said the rescue operation was unjustifiably delayed. It included 30 ships and three submarines, the ship had recently won a citation for its excellent performance and been recognised as having the best submarine crew in the Northern Fleet. Although it was an exercise, Kursk loaded a full complement of combat weapons and it was one of the few ships authorised to carry a combat load at all times. This included 18 SS-N-16 Stallion anti-ship missiles and 24 SS-N-19/P-700 Granit Shipwreck cruise missiles that were designed to defeat the best naval air defences. The submarine had a hull with a 3. 5-metre gap separating them, nine water-tight compartments. The vessel had a standing and it was claimed to be able to withstand a direct hit from a torpedo
Denmark
The term Danish Realm refers to the relationship between Denmark proper, the Faroe Islands and Greenland—three countries constituting the Kingdom of Denmark. The legal nature of the Kingdom of Denmark is fundamentally one of a sovereign state. The Faroe Islands and Greenland have been part of the Crown of Denmark since 1397 when the Kalmar Union was ratified, legal matters in The Danish Realm are subject to the Danish Constitution. Beginning in 1953, state law issues within The Danish Realm has been governed by The Unity of the Realm, a less formal name for The Unity of the Realm is the Commonwealth of the Realm. In 1978, The Unity of The Realm was for the first time referred to as rigsfællesskabet. The name caught on and since the 1990s, both The Unity of The Realm and The Danish Realm itself has increasingly been referred to as simply rigsfællesskabet in daily parlance. The Danish Constitution stipulates that the foreign and security interests for all parts of the Danish Realm are the responsibility of the Danish government, the Faroes received home rule in 1948 and Greenland did so in 1979.
In 2005, the Faroes received a self-government arrangement, and in 2009 Greenland received self rule, the Danish Realms unique state of internal affairs is acted out in the principle of The Unity of the Realm. This principle is derived from Article 1 of the Danish Constitution which specifies that constitutional law applies equally to all areas of the Danish Realm, the Constitutional Act specifies that sovereignty is to continue to be exclusively with the authorities of the Realm. The language of Denmark is Danish, and the Danish state authorities are based in Denmark, the Kingdom of Denmarks parliament, with its 179 members, is located in the capital, Copenhagen. Two of the members are elected in each of Greenland and the Faroe Islands. The Government ministries are located in Copenhagen, as is the highest court, in principle, the Danish Realm constitutes a unified sovereign state, with equal status between its constituent parts. Devolution differs from federalism in that the powers of the subnational authority ultimately reside in central government.
The Self-Government Arrangements devolves political competence and responsibility from the Danish political authorities to the Faroese, the Faroese and Greenlandic authorities administer the tasks taken over from the state, enact legislation in these specific fields and have the economic responsibility for solving these tasks. The Danish government provides a grant to the Faroese and the Greenlandic authorities to cover the costs of these devolved areas. The 1948 Home Rule Act of the Faroe Islands sets out the terms of Faroese home rule, the Act states. the Faroe Islands shall constitute a self-governing community within the State of Denmark. It establishes the government of the Faroe Islands and the Faroese parliament. The Faroe Islands were previously administered as a Danish county, the Home Rule Act abolished the post of Amtmand and these powers were expanded in a 2005 Act, which named the Faroese home government as an equal partner with the Danish government
86th Academy Awards
The ceremony was scheduled well after its usual late-February date to avoid conflicting with the 2014 Winter Olympics. During the ceremony, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences presented Academy Awards in 24 categories, the ceremony was televised in the United States by ABC, and produced by Neil Meron and Craig Zadan and directed by Hamish Hamilton. Actress Ellen DeGeneres hosted the show for the time, having previously hosted the 79th ceremony held in 2007. In related events, the Academy held its 5th annual Governors Awards ceremony at the Grand Ballroom of the Hollywood and Highland Center on November 16,2013. On February 15,2014, in a ceremony at The Beverly Hills Hotel in Beverly Hills, California,12 Years a Slave won three awards including Best Picture. Gravity won the most awards with seven including Best Director for Alfonso Cuarón, the telecast garnered nearly 44 million viewers in the United States, making it the most watched Oscar ceremony since the 72nd Academy Awards in 2000.
The nominees for the 86th Academy Awards were announced on January 16,2014, PST, at the Samuel Goldwyn Theater in Beverly Hills, California, by Cheryl Boone Isaacs, president of the Academy, and actor Chris Hemsworth. American Hustle and Gravity tied for the most nominations with ten each, the winners were announced during the awards ceremony on March 2,2014. American Hustle became David O. Russells second consecutive film to earn nominations in all acting categories and it was the third film after Gangs of New York and True Grit to lose all ten of its nominations. Steve McQueen became the first black director to direct a Best Picture winner, Alfonso Cuaron became the first person of Mexican descent to win Best Director. With Matthew McConaughey and Jared Letos respective wins in the Best Actor and Best Supporting Actor categories, additionally,3 other films received nominations for both Best Actor and Best Supporting Actor. Cate Blanchett became the actress to have won both female acting awards in her career.
Lupita Nyongo was the sixteenth Oscar acting winner to win for a film performance. Best Original Song co-winner Robert Lopez became the youngest individual to win an Academy, Emmy and Tony Award, winners are listed first, highlighted in boldface, and indicated with a double dagger. The Academy held its 5th Annual Governors Awards ceremony on November 16,2013, angela Lansbury — An entertainment icon who has created some of cinemas most memorable characters, inspiring generations of actors. Steve Martin — In recognition of his talents and the unique inspiration he has brought to the art of motion pictures. Piero Tosi — A visionary whose incomparable costume designs shaped timeless, angelina Jolie The following individuals and groups, listed in order of appearance, presented awards or performed musical numbers. Despite the mixed reception received from the years ceremony, the Academy rehired Neil Meron
Festen
Festen is a 1998 Danish film, produced by Nimbus Film and directed by Thomas Vinterberg. It was released under the title The Celebration in the United States, the film tells the story of a family gathering to celebrate their fathers 60th birthday. At the dinner, the eldest son publicly accuses his father of sexually abusing him and his twin sister. Vinterberg was inspired to write it with Mogens Rukov, based on a hoax broadcast by a Danish radio station and it was the first film created under Dogme 95 rules, a movement of young Danish film makers who preferred simple production values and naturalistic performances. The film was selected as the Danish entry for the Best Foreign Language Film at the 71st Academy Awards, respected family patriarch and businessman Helge is celebrating his 60th birthday at the family-run hotel. Gathered together amongst many family and friends are his wife Else, his sullen eldest son Christian, his well-traveled daughter Helene, christians twin sister, has recently taken her life at the hotel.
Before the celebration dinner, Helene finds Lindas suicide note, Michael fights with his wife, whom he had earlier abandoned on the roadside with their three children, and has sex with her. Michael is pulled aside by a waitress with whom he had an affair, during dinner, Christian makes a speech to the family in which he accuses his father Helge of sexually abusing him and his late sister Linda. There is an initial shocked silence, but the party returns to normal. In a private conversation in the pantry, a seemingly baffled Helge asks Christian about his motivations for slandering him, Christian is spurred to further action by hotel chef Kim, a childhood friend who knows about the abuse. Christian stands up and continues his toast by accusing Helge of causing Lindas death, Christian says nothing in response to the threat. Christian responds by accusing her of interrupting Helge during one of the rapes, yet not interfering with the incident and two other guests violently eject Christian from the hotel.
When Christian walks back in, they beat Christian and tie him to a tree in the nearby woods, Christian unties himself and returns to the house. Helene has a headache and asks one of the waitresses to go, Pia finds Lindas suicide note in the medicine bottle and gives it to Christian. Christian gives the note to Helene and leaves a note with the toastmaster. The toastmaster reads aloud the note that urges Helene to read the note to the guests. Lindas note states that she decided to herself after feeling overwhelmed by dreams in which her father was molesting her again. In a fit of anger, Helge admits to the abuse in front of all the guests by saying that it was all Christian was good for and he leaves the dining room with the guests stunned
2012 Cannes Film Festival
The 65th annual Cannes Film Festival was held from 16 to 27 May 2012. Italian film director Nanni Moretti was the President of the Jury for the main competition, french actress Bérénice Bejo hosted the opening and closing ceremonies. The festival opened with the US film Moonrise Kingdom, directed by Wes Anderson, the main announcement of the line-up took place on 19 April. The official poster of the festival features Marilyn Monroe, to mark the 50th anniversary of her death, the Palme dOr was awarded to Austrian director Michael Haneke for his film Amour. Haneke previously won the Palme dOr in 2009 for The White Ribbon, the jury gave the Grand Prize to Matteo Garrones Reality, while Ken Loachs The Angels Share was awarded the Jury Prize. The official selection was announced on 19 April at Grand Hôtel in Paris, the festivals artistic leader Thierry Frémaux responded that people should not focus only on the competition films, The selection is an ensemble, you have to consider the whole package.
The following entries were selected, out of more than 1,700 submissions from 320 different schools, the following films were selected, Feature films Short films The line-up for the International Critics’ Week was announced on 23 April at the sections website. The following films were selected, Feature films Short and medium length films Special Screenings The following films were screened in the Cannes Classics section. The Hungarian montage film Final Cut and Gentlemen, directed by György Pálfi, was selected as the film for the Cannes Classics section. Haneke previously won the award for The White Ribbon in 2009, Love tells the story of an elderly couple preparing for death. During his acceptance speech, the director said A very, very big thanks to my actors who have made this film and they are the essence of this film. Moretti said that none of the winners had been selected unanimously and he revealed that Holy Motors, Paradise and Post Tenebras Lux were the entries that most had divided the jury
Apocalyptic and post-apocalyptic fiction
Apocalyptic and post-apocalyptic fiction is a subgenre of science fiction, science fantasy or horror fiction literature in which the Earths technological civilization is collapsing or has collapsed. The story may involve attempts to prevent an event, deal with the impact and consequences of the event itself, or it may be post-apocalyptic. Post-apocalyptic stories often place in a non-technological future world, or a world where only scattered elements of society. And recognizable modern apocalyptic novels had existed since at least the first quarter of the 19th century, this form of literature gained widespread popularity after World War II, when the possibility of global annihilation by nuclear weapons entered the public consciousness. As shown above, the apocalypse is depicted in visual art, the story may involve attempts to prevent an apocalypse event, deal with the impact and consequences of the event itself, or may be post-apocalyptic, and be set after the event. Post-apocalyptic stories often place in a non-technological future world, or a world where only scattered elements of society.
The scriptural story of Noah and his Ark describes the end of the original civilization. Noah is assigned the task to build the Ark and save the lifeforms so as to reestablish a new post-flood world, numerous other societies, including the Babylonian, had produced apocalyptic literature and mythology which dealt with the end of the world and of human society. Many of which included stories that refer back to the Biblical Noah or describe a similar flood. The Epic of Gilgamesh, written ca, 2000–1500 BC, details a myth where the angry gods send floods to punish humanity, but the ancient hero Utnapishtim and his family are saved through the intervention of the god Ea. A similar story about the Genesis flood narrative is found in Sura 71 of the Quran, even in the Hindu Dharmasastra, the apocalyptic deluge plays a prominent part. According to the Matsya Purana, the Matsya avatar of Lord Vishnu, at the time of deluge, Vishnu appeared as a horned fish and Shesha appeared as a rope, with which Vaivasvata Manu fastened the boat to the horn of the fish.
Variants of this story appear in Buddhist and Jain scriptures. The first centuries AD saw the recording of the Book of Revelation, which is filled with prophecies of destruction, as well as luminous visions. In the first chapter of Revelation, the writer St. John the Divine explains his errand, Write the things which thou hast seen, the things which are. He takes it as his mission to convey—to reveal—to God’s kingdom His promise that justice will prevail, the apocalyptist provides a beautific vision of Judgement Day, revealing God’s promise for redemption from suffering and strife. Revelation describes a New Heaven and a New Earth, and its intended Christian audience is often enchanted and inspired and these Christians believed themselves chosen for God’s salvation, and so such apocalyptic sensibilities inspired optimism and nostalgia for the end times. The fear of the end is about as old as civilization itself
Clermont-Ferrand
Clermont-Ferrand is a city and commune of France, in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region, with a population of 141,569. Its metropolitan area had 467,178 inhabitants at the 2011 census and it is the prefecture of the Puy-de-Dôme department. Olivier Bianchi is its current mayor, Clermont-Ferrand sits on the plain of Limagne in the Massif Central and is surrounded by a major industrial area. The city is famous for the chain of volcanoes, the Chaîne des Puys surrounding it, the famous dormant volcano Puy de Dôme is one of the highest of these and well known for the telecommunication antennas that sit on its top and are visible from far away. Clermont-Ferrands most famous square is Place de Jaude, on which stands a grand statue of Vercingetorix sitting imperiously on a horse. The inscription reads, Jai pris les armes pour la liberté de tous and this statue was sculpted by Frédéric Bartholdi, who created the Statue of Liberty. Clermont-Ferrands first name was Augusta Nemetum and it was born on the central knoll where the cathedral is situated today, known as Nemossos.
It overlooked the capital of Gaulish Avernie, the fortified castle of Clarus Mons gave its name to the whole town in 848, to which the small episcopal town of Montferrand was attached in 1731, together taking the name of Clermont-Ferrand. The old part of Clermont is delimited by the route of the ramparts, the town of Clermont-Ferrand came about with the joining together of two separate towns and Montferrand, which was decreed by Louis XIII and confirmed by Louis XV. Clermont ranks among the oldest cities of France, the first known mention was by the Greek geographer Strabo, who called it the metropolis of the Arverni. The city was at that time called Nemessos – a Gaulish word for a sacred forest and it was somewhere in the area around Nemossos that the Arverni chieftain Vercingetorix was born in around 72 BC. Also, Nemossos was situated not far from the plateau of Gergovia, after the Roman conquest, the city became known as Augustonemetum sometime in the 1st century, a name which combined its original Gallic name with that of the Emperor Augustus.
Its population was estimated at 15, 000–30,000 in the 2nd century and it became Arvernis in the 3rd century, and expanded until the mid 3rd century. The city became the seat of a bishop in the 5th century, at the time of the bishop Namatius or Saint Namace, who built a cathedral here described by Gregory of Tours. Clermont went through a period after the disappearance of the Roman Empire and during the whole High Middle Ages. Between 471 and 475, Auvergne was often the target of Visigothic expansion, a generation later, it became part of the Kingdom of the Franks. On 8 November 535 the first Council of Clermont opened at Arvernis, with fifteen bishops participating, including Caesarius of Arles, Nizier of Lyons and Saint Hilarius, bishop of Mende. Sixteen decrees were made there, notably the second canon that recalls that the granting of episcopal dignity must be according to the merits, in 570, Bishop Avitus offered the Jews of his town the alternatives of baptism or expulsion
Joaquin Phoenix
Joaquín Rafael Phoenix, known formerly as Leaf Phoenix, is a Puerto Rican–born American actor, music video director and activist. For his work as an artist, Phoenix has received a Grammy Award, Phoenix started acting in television shows with his brother River Phoenix and sister Summer Phoenix. His first major release was in the comedy-drama film Parenthood. During his period as an actor he was credited as Leaf Phoenix. He received international attention for his portrayal of Commodus in the 2000 historical epic film Gladiator, to this date, he and River Phoenix hold the distinction of being the first and only brothers to be nominated for acting Academy Awards. Aside from his career, he has ventured into directing music videos, as well as producing films. He has recorded an album, the soundtrack to Walk The Line, Phoenix is a social activist, lending his support to a number of charities and humanitarian organizations. He is known for his animal rights advocacy. He has been a vegan since the age of three, and actively campaigns for PETA and In Defense of Animals, Phoenix was born Joaquín Rafael Bottom in the Río Piedras district of San Juan, Puerto Rico, to parents from the U. S. mainland.
He is the third of five children, including River, Rain and Summer and he has a half-sister named Jodean from a previous relationship of his fathers. Phoenixs father, John Lee Bottom, originally from Fontana, was a lapsed Catholic, of English, Phoenixs mother, was born in the Bronx, New York, to Jewish parents whose families emigrated from Russia and Hungary. Arlyn left her family in 1968 and moved to California, meeting Phoenixs father while hitchhiking and they married in 1969, later joined a religious group, the Children of God, and began traveling throughout South America. His parents eventually became disenchanted with the Children of God, they made the decision to leave the group and they changed their last name to Phoenix, after the mythical bird that rises from its own ashes, symbolizing a new beginning. Around this time, Joaquín began calling himself Leaf, desiring to have a name like his siblings. Leaf became the name he used as a actor, until at age 15. He first used it as a credit in his big comeback film To Die For.
In order to provide food and financial support for the family, in Los Angeles, his mother started working as a secretary for NBC, and his father worked as a landscaper. He went on to himself as a child actor before deciding to withdraw from acting for a while and travel to Mexico
