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Gary Yates

Biography

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Gary Yates (born in Montreal, Canada) is a film director from Winnipeg, Manitoba. Yates has worked on Canadian television since the early 1990s and recently completed a number of feature films starring actor Kevin Pollack, including Niagara Motel (2005) and Seven Times Lucky (2004), which was nominated for five Genie Awards. Gary Yates is a film director, screenwriter and producer from Montreal. His films have garnered worldwide critical acclaim, and have premiered at some of the world's most prestigious film festivals including Sundance, Berlin, Rotterdam, Karlovy-Vary, Shanghai, New York and Toronto. Yates has won many international awards, for both directing and screenwriting, and was shortlisted for an Academy Award® Nomination for Best Short Film, for his surrealist comedy Without Rockets. Yates' debut feature, Seven Times Lucky (2004) which he wrote, produced and directed, premiered to rave reviews at the Sundance Film Festival in 2004, and won six Blizzard Awards, including Best Feature, Best Screenplay, Best Director, and Best Actor for lead Kevin Pollak. The film was nominated for five Genie Awards, and was awarded the top prizes at the Method Fest in Los Angeles, winning Best Film and Best Screenplay. According to the Daily Variety film review at Sundance: The grifter movie reaches a level of unprecedented enjoyment and excitement in Seven Times Lucky, an absolute knockout of a feature debut. Yates' award-winning heist picture, High Life (2009), starring Timothy Olyphant, premiered at the Berlin Film Festival, was nominated for Best Feature Film and won the Best Film Editing Award at the Director's Guild Awards. High Life also won the Best Film Award at the Calgary International film Festival. Maclean's Magazine raved: Buoyantly entertaining from start to finish, Yates has lifted the material off the stage and turned it into a kinetic visual drama with sparks of druggy delirium. A Canadian answer to the Coen Brothers with a Tarantino kick. Description above from the Wikipedia article Gary Yates (director), licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.
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Sergio Kato

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Sergio Luiz Pereira (born July 15, 1960), known professionally as Sergio Kato, (Years active‎: 1975–present). Is a Brazilian-American actor, model, ballet dancer, former martial artist, former military. Kato has appeared in many TV-commercial and films (cameo appearance). He found greater fame in his hometown of Rio de Janeiro, after a stage play at the Scala Rio music venue. Since then, Kato has been working for many advertising campaigns, TV shows, and films. Former model and active actor 2020. Aside from the acting career, Kato still modeling not as much. Print-adds, campaigns and TV Commercials for grief clothing. Still young, in 1982 he served the Brazilian Air Force, then in 1985, he moved to the United States. After studying English at California High School and, studied at the University of California in Los Angeles, where he received a Diploma from the UCLA School of Theater, Film, and Television. Similarly, the movie industry changes rapidly, many projects in Europe and the USA. Modeling Sergio Kato signed with a modeling agency in New York City appeared in ads for Calvin Klein with Dylan Bruno and modeled in Paris, Japan and Milan. His modeling career also includes modeling for Polo Ralph Lauren, Georgio Armani, Dolce & Gabbana, Timex. From Wikipedia.
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Rashmika Mandanna

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Rashmika Mandanna is an Indian actress who works predominantly in Telugu, Hindi, Kannada, and Tamil cinema. Born on April 5, 1996, in Virajpet, Karnataka, she studied psychology, journalism, and English literature at M. S. Ramaiah College of Arts, Science and Commerce in Bengaluru. Prior to acting, she won the Clean & Clear Fresh Face contest in 2014, which launched her modeling career. She made her acting debut with the critically and commercially successful Kannada romantic comedy *Kirik Party* (2016). She expanded into Telugu cinema with *Chalo* (2018) and quickly rose to nationwide prominence with blockbuster hits including *Geetha Govindam* (2018), *Sarileru Neekevvaru* (2020), *Pushpa: The Rise* (2021), and *Pushpa 2: The Rule* (2024). She also established a strong presence in Hindi cinema with films like *Goodbye* (2022), the record-breaking action drama *Animal* (2023), and *Chhaava* (2025), alongside her Tamil debut in *Sulthan* (2021). Her performances have earned her four South Indian International Movie Awards (SIIMA), including Best Debut Actress – Kannada (*Kirik Party*) and Best Actress – Telugu (*Geetha Govindam* and *Pushpa: The Rise*), along with a Filmfare Award South for Best Actress (Critics) – Telugu for *Geetha Govindam*.
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Vera Farmiga

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Vera Ann Farmiga (/fɑːrˈmiːɡə/ far-MEE-gə; born August 6, 1973) is an American actress. Farmiga began her professional acting career on stage in the original Broadway production of Taking Sides (1996). After expanding to television and film, her breakthrough came with her starring role as a drug addict in the drama Down to the Bone (2004). She then had roles in the political thriller The Manchurian Candidate (2004), the crime drama The Departed (2006), and the historical drama The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas (2008). She was also established as a scream queen for her performances in the horror films Joshua (2007) and Orphan (2009). For her performance in the comedy-drama Up in the Air (2009), Farmiga was nominated for an Academy Award and other accolades. She then made her directorial debut with the drama film Higher Ground (2011), in which she had the leading role. She starred in the thrillers Source Code (2011) and Safe House (2012), before furthering her scream queen status by portraying paranormal investigator Lorraine Warren in the Conjuring Universe films The Conjuring (2013), The Conjuring 2 (2016), Annabelle Comes Home (2019), and The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It (2021). She also starred in the legal drama The Judge (2014), the biographical drama The Front Runner (2018), the monster film Godzilla: King of the Monsters (2019), and the crime drama The Many Saints of Newark (2021). On television, Farmiga received Primetime Emmy Award nominations for playing Norma Louise Bates in the A&E drama horror series Bates Motel (2013–2017) and starring in the Netflix miniseries When They See Us (2019). She also appears in the Disney+ miniseries Hawkeye (2021), set in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, and the Apple TV+ miniseries Five Days at Memorial (2022). Description above from the Wikipedia article Vera Farmiga, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.
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Saori Hayami

Biography

Saori Hayami is a Japanese voice actress, singer and narrator. She is represented by the agency I'm Enterprise. As a singer, she is signed to Warner Bros. Home Entertainment Japan. In 2016, she won the 10th Seiyu Awards for Best Supporting Actress. Her major voice roles include Yukino Yukinoshita in My Teen Romantic Comedy SNAFU, Ayase Aragaki in Oreimo, Shirayuki in Snow White with the Red Hair, Miyuki Shiba in The Irregular at Magic High School, Shinoa Hiiragi in Seraph of the End, Kotohae Hanami in Witchy PreCure!, Urara Shiraishi in Yamada-kun and the Seven Witches, Yotsugi Ononoki in Monogatari, Aila Jyrkiäinen in Gundam Build Fighters, Wako Agemaki in Star Driver, Shōko Nishimiya in A Silent Voice, Yumeko Jabami in Kakegurui – Compulsive Gambler, Shinobu Kocho in Demon Slayer, and Yor Forger in SPY × FAMILY.
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Kaviyoor Ponnamma

Biography

Kaviyoor Ponnamma (10 September 1945 – 20 September 2024) was an Indian actress who appeared in Malayalam films and television. She began her career performing in theatre dramas before foraying into cinema. She also acted in TV serials and commercials and had playback singing credits in few films Ponnamma was a four-time Kerala State Film Award for Second Best Actress winner. Often called as the "mother to all actors", she acted as mother of almost all actors in her career spanning over decades. At the age of 20, she played the mother of older actors Sathyan and Madhu in Thommente Makkal (1965). She particularly gained critical acclaim for acting as the mother of Mohanlal. As a five-year-old, she learned music and sang in stage shows. In 1958, she was spotted by Kerala People's Arts Club (KPAC) who was looking for a girl who can sing in their stage play. They also gave her the role of heroine in Mooladhanam, her debut stage drama at age 13. It was directed by Thoppil Bhasi. After five years came her first movie Kudumbini, in which she did the title role of the mother of two children. Ponnamma died from cancer at Lissie Hospital in Kochi, Kerala, on 20 September 2024, at the age of 79.
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Joanna Lumley

Biography

Dame Joanna Lamond Lumley DBE FRGS (born 1 May 1946) is a British actress, presenter, former model, author, television producer, and activist. She has won two BAFTA TV Awards for her role as Patsy Stone in the BBC sitcom Absolutely Fabulous (1992–2012), and was nominated for the 2011 Tony Award for Best Featured Actress in a Play for the Broadway revival of La Bête. In 2013, she received the Special Recognition Award at the National Television Awards, and in 2017 she was honoured with the BAFTA Fellowship award. Lumley's other television credits include The New Avengers (1976–1977), Sapphire & Steel (1979–1982), Sensitive Skin (2005–2007), Jam & Jerusalem (2006–2008) and Finding Alice (2021–present) as well as playing Elaine Perkins in Coronation Street in 1973. Her film appearances include On Her Majesty's Secret Service (1969), Trail of the Pink Panther (1982), Shirley Valentine (1989), James and the Giant Peach (1996), Ella Enchanted (2004), Corpse Bride (2005), The Wolf of Wall Street (2013), and Absolutely Fabulous: The Movie (2016). She had roles in two episodes of Are You Being Served? (1973–1975) written by Jeremy Lloyd, whom she had married and divorced three years prior to her first appearance on the show. Lumley is an advocate and human rights activist for Survival International and the Gurkha Justice Campaign. She supports charities and animal welfare groups, such as Compassion in World Farming and Vegetarians' International Voice for Animals. Lumley was made a Dame (DBE) in the 2022 New Year Honours for services to drama, entertainment and charity.
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Nancy Astor

Biography

Nancy Witcher Astor, Viscountess Astor (19 May 1879 – 2 May 1964) was an American-born British politician who was the first woman seated as a Member of Parliament (MP), serving from 1919 to 1945. Astor was born in Danville, Virginia, and raised in Greenwood, Virginia. Her first marriage, to socialite Robert Gould Shaw II, was unhappy and ended in divorce. She then moved to England and married American-born Englishman Waldorf Astor in 1906. After her second husband succeed to his father's peerage and entered the House of Lords, she entered politics as a member of the Unionist Party (now the Conservative Party) and, at the by-election caused by his elevation, won his former seat of Plymouth Sutton in 1919, becoming the first woman to sit as an MP in the House of Commons.[a] During her time in Parliament, Astor was an advocate for temperance, welfare, education reform and women's rights. She was also an ardent anti-Catholic and anti-communist, and received criticism for her antisemitism and sympathetic view of Nazism. Astor served in Parliament until 1945 when she was persuaded to step down, as her outspokenness had made her a political liability in the final years of the Second World War. She retired from politics and largely withdrew from public life following the death of her husband. Astor died in 1964 at Grimsthorpe Castle in Lincolnshire and was interred at her family estate at Cliveden. Description above from the Wikipedia article Nancy Astor, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.
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Hiroshi Tanahashi

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Hiroshi Tanahashi, widely known as the “Ace,” is a Japanese sports executive and retired professional wrestler signed to New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW), where he serves as president and representative director. He debuted in 1999 after graduating from the NJPW Dojo as a Young Lion and later went on excursion to Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA) in the United States. He had his final match on January 4, 2026, against longtime rival Kazuchika Okada at Wrestle Kingdom 20. Across his NJPW career, Tanahashi became an eight-time IWGP Heavyweight Champion, two-time IWGP Intercontinental Champion, three-time IWGP United States Heavyweight Champion, one-time NEVER Openweight Champion, one-time NJPW World Television Champion, two-time IWGP U-30 Openweight Champion, and six-time NEVER Openweight Six-Man Tag Team Champion. In tournament competition, he won the G1 Climax three times in 2007, 2015, and 2018 and the New Japan Cup twice in 2005 and 2008. He is recognized as the fourth wrestler to complete NJPW’s Triple Crown and the second to achieve its Grand Slam. Outside NJPW, Tanahashi is a one-time RevPro Undisputed British Heavyweight Champion, a one-time GHC Tag Team Champion with Yuji Nagata, a one-time CMLL World Tag Team Champion with Jushin Thunder Liger, a one-time CMLL World Trios Champion with Okumura and Taichi as La Ola Amarilla, and the winner of the Campeón Universal del CMLL 2013 Tournament. Fans, journalists, and fellow wrestlers often credit Tanahashi as a central figure in NJPW’s rebuilding period, pointing to his role in helping carry the promotion through the 2000s and early 2010s, and he is widely regarded as one of the greatest professional wrestlers of all time for his consistency, drawing ability, and influence on the modern “ace” role. His legacy is further reinforced through major industry recognition. Wrestling Observer Newsletter awards include Feud of the Year (2012–2013) vs. Kazuchika Okada, Most Charismatic (2013), Most Outstanding Wrestler (2012–2013), Match of the Year (2012) vs. Minoru Suzuki on October 8, Match of the Year (2013) vs. Kazuchika Okada on April 7, Match of the Year (2016) vs. Kazuchika Okada on January 4, Wrestler of the Year (2011–2013), Wrestler of the Decade (2010s), Most Charismatic of the Decade (2010s), and induction into the Wrestling Observer Newsletter Hall of Fame (Class of 2013). He was ranked No. 3 of the top 500 singles wrestlers in the Pro Wrestling Illustrated PWI 500 in 2013. Tokyo Sports awards include Best Bout Award (2012) vs. Kazuchika Okada on June 16, Fighting Spirit Award (2003, 2006), MVP Award (2009, 2011, 2014, 2018), and Outstanding Performance Award (2007).
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Paweł Wojtasik

Biography

Paweł Wojtasik was born in Łódź, Poland, and lived in Tunisia before coming to the United States as a refugee in 1972. He received an MFA from Yale University in 1996. From 1998 until 2000 he was a resident at Dai Bosatsu Zendo Buddhist monastery in the Catskill mountains of New York State. Wojtasik’s internationally recognized films and video installations are visionary and poetic reflections on our environment and culture. Wojtasik’s film The Aquarium (2006) deals with the destruction of the oceans; while the 360° panoramic video installation Below Sea Level (2009-2011), with soundscape by Stephen Vitiello, concerns the plight of post-Katrina New Orleans. Below Sea Level was commissioned by MASS MoCA (Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art) and shown there in 2009-2010 and in the PROSPECT. 2 biennial in New Orleans. Wojtasik’s Pigs (2010) was included in the 2010 New York Film Festival, and in the 2011 Berlinale — Forum Expanded. The film had its Asian premiere at the Hong Kong International Film Festival, where it won the Grand Prize in the short film category. Next Atlantis (2010), with music by Sebastian Currier, premiered at Carnegie Hall in New York in January 2010. At the Still Point was a five-channel video installation shot in India and commissioned by Smack Mellon in Brooklyn, NY. It was shown there in 2010. Another installation work, Single Stream (with Toby Lee and Ernst Karel), was presented at the Museum of the Moving Image in New York in 2013. The single-channel version of Single Stream was shown at the 2014 Whitney Biennial and at the Locarno and Ann Arbor film festivals, among others. Wojtasik’s first feature film End of Life (portraying five individuals nearing the end of their lives, co-directed with John Bruce) premiered at DocLisboa in 2017, and had its U.S. premiere at the 2018 New York Film Festival. The film was selected as a candidate for the 2018 European Academy Awards. Paweł’s most recent feature film Every Pulse of the Heart Is Work, on the theme of labor, shot in Benares and Kerala, India, had its NYC premiere at The Museum of Modern Art as part of 2020 Doc Fortnight.
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