- World Report 2024: Burundi (hrw.org)
Burundi’s ruling party, the National Council for the Defense of Democracy-Forces for the Defense of Democracy (Conseil national pour la défense de la démocratie-Forces pour la défense de la démocratie, CNDD-FDD) consolidated its control over institutions and continued to weaken and quash political opposition, routinely targeting those it accuses of being “enemies” of the country. At the same time, the arrest of former Prime Minister Gen. Alain Guillaume Bunyoni on April 21 exposed divisions and shifting dynamics within the ruling party.
- The Holy Mountain - Official 4K Trailer | Alejandro Jodorowsky (YouTube)
Alejandro Jodorowsky’s cult film The Holy Mountain, newly restored in 4K, firmly established the director as an auteur of Surrealist Cinema, and sparked controversy at the 1973 Cannes Film Festival due to its sacrilegious imagery. The director himself plays The Alchemist, a guru who guides a troupe of pilgrims, each representing the planets in the solar system, on a magical quest to Lotus Island where they must ascend the Holy Mountain in search of spiritual enlightenment.
- The Holy Mountain (1973 film) (Wikipedia)
The Holy Mountain (Spanish: La montaña sagrada) is a 1973 Mexican surrealist film directed, written, produced, co-scored, co-edited by and starring Alejandro Jodorowsky, who also participated as a set designer and costume designer on the film. Following Jodorowsky’s underground hit El Topo (1970), acclaimed by both John Lennon and George Harrison, the film was produced by the Beatles manager Allen Klein of ABKCO Music and Records. John Lennon and Yoko Ono put up production money. It was shown at various international film festivals in 1973, including Cannes, and limited screenings in New York and San Francisco.