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Day: 29 April 2024

Monte-Carlo Television Festival: Bridgerton’s Simone Ashley earns Golden Nymph for Most Promising Talent

by: Stephanie Horsman
29/04/2024
Golden Nymph for Most Promising Talent

Among the stars to be honoured at the 63rd edition of the Monte-Carlo Television Festival in June is Bridgerton’s Simone Ashley, who will be this year’s recipient of the International Golden Nymph for Most Promising Talent.  

British actress Simone Ashley is to be lauded for her role as the cult show’s Kate Sharma at the Monte-Carlo Television Festival.  

The Festival’s prestigious panel has chosen the 29-year-old as the winner of the inaugural International Golden Nymph for Most Promising Talent, a new award that “recognises the brilliant and exceptional rising talent of an actor who has raised the bar of excellence to international acclaim”. 

Ashley will receive her award during the event’s Opening Ceremony on 14th June along with the yet-to-be-announced winners of the Crystal Nymph and the Honorary Golden Nymph, which celebrate outstanding personalities in the international television and entertainment industries.  

In addition to her work as the sassy Kate Sharma in Series Two of the hit period drama, she has also gained recognition for her portrayal of Olivia Hanan, a recurring character on the Netflix drama-comedy Sex Education. She was named on the 2022 Forbes 30 Under 30 list and on the TIME 100 Next list for “emerging leaders from around the world who are shaping the future and defining the next generation of leadership”. 

“We are extremely proud to have created a special award at our Festival to highlight a new talent on the international stage,” says Cécile Menoni, Executive Director of the Monte-Carlo Television Festival. “Simone shot to global fame in Shonda Rhimes’ hit show Bridgerton on Netflix, and her exceptional screen presence makes her a very worthy winner. We are very much looking forward to her arrival on the red carpet in June and to celebrating her success with her many fans.” 

Ashley is set to reprise her role in Bridgerton in Series Three, which will be released in May, and has secured lead roles in Amazon Prime Video’s original romantic-comedy Picture This and in the psychological thriller This Tempting Madness, the fictionalised true story of a woman who wakes from a coma to find her husband in prison, her memories fractured and her perception of reality in tatters.  

 

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Photo courtesy of Monte-Carlo Television Festival 

The Deep Sea Project: France to invest €25 million in seabed exploration

by: Stephanie Horsman
29/04/2024
france deep sea

France’s government has announced the allocation of €25 million in funding for its Deep Sea Project, a multi-faceted research mission that seeks to “better understand the deep seabed, which plays a crucial role in climate stability and regulation”.  

France is positioning itself at the forefront of deep seabed exploration and research with a pioneering project: the Deep Sea Project or Grands Fonds Marins. 

Back in 2022, the government issued a call for companies from both the public and private sectors who were looking for funding to support their endeavours in deep sea exploration.  

After nearly two years of consideration, 11 companies have been selected for funding, which forms part of the France 2030 plans to invest €54 billion in new tech and industry. They are now set to share €25 million of public investment in a bid to “advance research and better protect these ecosystems”. 

The projects put forwards by the successful enterprises cover areas such as the development of innovative deep sea equipment – underwater drones, autonomous submersibles, robotic systems and sensors, for example – and the supporting software and data processing services. 

The overarching goal of the Deep Sea Project is to learn more about the deep sea environment as well as how it can be best protected through various mapping, monitoring and explorative missions.  

Read more: Monaco Explorations prepares for Greek Odyssey mission

Among the threats facing this ‘final frontier’ is deep sea mining.  

Speaking at the UN Ocean Conference in Lisbon in 2022, French President Emmanuel Macron said, “We have to create the legal framework to stop high-sea mining and to prevent new activities from putting these ecosystems in danger. But at the same time, we need to promote our scientists and explorers, allowing them to better know the deep seas. We need to better understand in order to protect.” 

This stance was followed up by a ban on deep sea mining that was voted in by France’s Assemblée Nationale in early 2023.  

France is believed to have the largest deep-water Exclusive Economic Zone in the world. Including the marine zones of its overseas territories, more than 10 million square kilometres of the French seabed sits at a depth of below 1,000 metres. This equates to 93% of the total surface area of the French seabed.   

Read related:

Interview: Robert Calcagno, CEO Oceanographic Institute – Prince Albert I Foundation

 

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Photo source: Unsplash