Criterion Releases Restored Special Edition of Med Hondo’s “West Indies: The Fugitive Slaves of Liberty” The Criterion Collection released a restored special-edition Blu-ray of Med Hondo’s “West Indies: The Fugitive Slaves of Liberty” in the United States on 9 June 2026. The 1979 France-Mauritania film was directed, produced and adapted for the screen by Hondo, whose work was central to Pan-African cinema and anti-colonial film culture. The film is based on Daniel Boukman’s play “Les négriers.” Set aboard a large mock slave ship, “West Indies: The Fugitive Slaves of Liberty” uses music, choreography and staged historical reenactment to examine French colonialism, enslavement, forced displacement and liberation struggles across the African diaspora. The Criterion edition includes a new 4K digital restoration, archival interviews with Hondo, a new interview with African cinema scholar Aboubakar Sanogo, an excerpted archival interview with cinematographer François Catonné, trailers, and an essay by film programmer and critic Ashley Clark. The new cover artwork is by Chris Visions. The film runs 116 minutes, is in French, and is also available on The Criterion Channel. #MedHondo #WestIndiesFilm #CriterionCollection #PanAfricanCinema

The Yahoo Boys aren't just scammers — they're status symbols. Carlos Barragan's new book explores how online fraud became a pathway to wealth, fame and influence in Nigeria. bloomberg.com/news/articles/…

Weddings have never been more expensive. Walking down the aisle costs an average of $36,000 and can easily balloon to tens of thousands more. In many cases, the newlyweds’ parents help foot the bill — but they don’t always act like silent shareholders. Mothers and fathers often want a stake in the big day, and couples have to decide how much they’ll put up with. Is the money worth being forced to have a boozeless reception? To wear your mother-in-law’s old wedding dress that smells like mothballs? Things can get heated quickly. When one mother-in-law disagreed with the couple’s menu choices, she sent the bride a scathing text. “It will be harder to fight both of you,” she wrote. “Perhaps your first united front as a couple. There will come a time when he has to choose: make you happy or his mom?” Sometimes, these clashes become so extreme that the brides wish they’d never touched the money in the first place. Julia’s mother-in-law, Cheryl, offered to pay on one condition: all of her friends would be invited. Julia felt like she had no choice but to say yes — her fiancé wanted a big celebration, and they didn’t have the $30,000 to pay for it. But Julia had a bad feeling. Of the 150 guests, three-quarters were people Cheryl had invited, many of whom the bride herself had never met. “It felt more like I was planning someone else’s event,” Julia said. “I stopped seeing the wedding as me and my partner’s day.” Read Angelina Chapin on the couples who regret accepting money from their parents to pay for their weddings: nymag.visitlink.me/n4qOAP

Spencer Pratt Fails To Advance In Los Angeles Mayor’s Race go.forbes.com/L8m5zG

Eddie Murphy got choked up (but didn't cry!) during his AFI Life Achievement Award tribute, now playing on Netflix.

worst professional hazard so far has been @emmaedavidson>@Dazed running with my pitch idea early last month on Rachel Ojuromi walking d streets of Lagos. story got assigned in-house to their staff writer. emailed a complaint upon pub & requested for clarification—no response lol