Camille Gottlieb joined more than 150 other participants at Monaco’s third Pride event on 20th June, an event co-organised by Barclays Bank and the local Fights Aids association at the recently opened Marius restaurant on the Quai des Artistes.
Established in 2022 thanks to a collaboration between Barclays Bank, Fight Aids Monaco and the now-closed Stars’n’Bars bar, Monaco Pride aims to raise awareness and drive positive change to LGBTQI+ rights and legislation in the Principality.
Among the notable attendees at the event were: Monserrat Marchetti, Team Leader of Barclays Private Bank Monaco; Hervé Aeschbach, Coordinator of the Fight Aids Association; Annette Anderson; and Camille Gottlieb, the founder of BeSafe Monaco and the daughter of Princess Stéphanie of Monaco. It is the first time that a member of the extended Grimaldi family has been involved in Monaco Pride.
Barclays has a long-standing global commitment to promoting diversity and inclusion in the workplace, with Marchetti telling Monaco Life, “Making everyone feel comfortable in their work is at the heart of our culture. We encourage this feeling through activities and initiatives and creating networks that allow colleagues to network connections.”
She continued, “Our ongoing relationship with Pride is just one of many ways we demonstrate our commitment to the LGBT+ community.”
For the second consecutive year, the front façade of Barclays’ Monaco branch will be illuminated in rainbow colours throughout June in observance of international Pride Month.
The Monaco branch of the Barclays bank will be lit up by rainbow lighting for the entire month of June. Photo supplied
Speaking to Monaco Life at the event, Aeschbach pinpointed the ongoing challenges faced by LGBTQI+ individuals in Monaco, including the lack of spousal rights for widows and widowers in same-sex unions that are legally recognised elsewhere as well as the denial of medical benefits for children of same-sex families.
In recent months, the local association Mon’Arc en Ciel has launched a new website that aims to educate decision-makers on LGBTQI+ rights and advocate for legislative changes to address the hardships faced by many LGBTQI+ families in Monaco.
To read more about the association and its work, click here.
From Dune: Part Two and the latest in the Mad Max franchise to the Bob Marley and Amy Winehouse biopics, the open-air cinema on Monaco’s Avenue de la Quarantaine will be showing some of 2024’s biggest movies this June and July.
Over the coming weeks, the big screen on the Terrasses du Parking des Pêcheurs will be hosting film screenings almost every evening.
Among the top attractions this year will no doubt be Bad Boys Ride or Die (21st, 25th and 30th June as well as 5th and 14th July), Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga on 24th June, Dune: Part Two on 4th July, Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes on 7th July, Challengers on 23rd June and 2nd July, and Twisters on 17th and 22nd July.
There are also three major biopics on the schedule: the Back to Black depiction of tragic star Amy Winehouse (26th June and 9th July), Bob Marley: One Love on 1st July and One Life, the retelling of the true story of British humanitarian Nicholas Winton, who saved the lives of hundreds of Jewish children during WWII, on 27th June.
Monaco Life’s top picks are the star-studded The Bikeriders, which will be shown on 3rd, 8th, 16th and 21st July, and Fly Me To The Moon (11th, 15th, 19th and 23rd July).
For children, there’s Inside Out 2 on 22nd and 29th June as well as Despicable Me 4 on 10th, 13th and 20th July.
On top of the 500 cushioned cinema seats, there is also a lounge area that serves snacks and chilled beverages. Dogs are permitted in the venue if they are kept on a leash.
No reservations are needed, but make sure you give yourself plenty of time to arrive and get settled before the screenings start at 10pm.
For the open-air cinema’s complete summer programme, click here.
Join Monaco Life’s Cassandra Tanti as she sits down with Simone Ashley, the captivating actress who dazzled audiences in Bridgerton Season Two and took home the prestigious International Golden Nymph Most Promising Talent award at the Monte-Carlo Television Festival.
Simone Ashley is a rising British actress who gained widespread recognition for her role as Kate Sharma in the second season of the hit Netflix series Bridgerton. The series was so popular that it landed on Netflix’s Top 10 Most Popular List in the English TV category, amassing an impressive 94 million views within the first three months on the platform.
Before her breakout role in Bridgerton, she appeared in various television shows and films, including Sex Education and the movie Pokémon Detective Pikachu.
Ashely was recently in Monaco to accept her awards at the opening ceremony of the Monte-Carlo Television Festival.
How does it feel to be the belle of the ball here at the Monte-Carlo Television Festival?
Oh, wow. That’s so sweet when you say it that way. I’m really excited and really honoured to here and I’m having the best time.
You shot to fame as Kate Sharma on Season Two of Bridgeton. Tell us how you landed that role, and did you ever imagine that it would become the absolute phenomenon that it has?
Well, because Season One had already come out and the world had been introduced to Bridgeton, and it really did leave a mark on the world, everyone was already cheering us on loudly. So yes, I think in theory, I did know how big it was going to be.
But I didn’t know emotionally what that meant until I actually experienced it. I think I preferred it that way, it was better to be oblivious. I spent 11 months doing Season Two during the Covid times, so it was nice to not have the pressure emotionally.
I got the part of Kate Sharma after I did a few self-tapes and had a chemistry read with Jonathan. I remember getting in to the car afterwards to go home feeling quite excited, thinking to myself that I really wanted to get this.
Simone Ashley and Jonathan Bailey in Bridgerton Season Two
Well, you and Jonathan Bailey definitely have a lot chemistry. How do you prepare for those kind of things? You’re still quite young actress, so I imagine this is the first time you went from doing children’s roles to being quite steamy and spicy.
As you said, I’ve matured now, so I think that comes with emotional maturity. It’s about conveying a relationship, a story and a message to the world. We worked with intimacy coordinator Lizzie Talbot, who helped us choreograph the scenes almost like a stunt, so you feel really safe and you know what you are doing when you go on set. The purpose is to convey an emotion and to really perform something as honestly possible, but with certain restrictions, so the actors feel comfortable.
I’m interested to know how actresses and actors like yourself watch back the series… Do you grab a tub of popcorn and binge watch it like the rest of us?
It really depends. This year, Season Three, I watched most of it on my phone because I was traveling and filming something else, so if I had some time I would just watch as much as possible in a corner.
Season Two, I did manage to have some time to watch it on my TV at home. We received it quite shortly after we wrapped up filming, so we could get an understanding of what we were about to share with the world.
As an Indian woman, how does feel to take part a series that is breaking so much ground when it comes to clichéd topics like race, gender and redefining beauty? This must be something that you’re proud of?
I am so proud, because we all know how this world has worked and how it continues to work sometimes. But I just think brown/dark skin is so gorgeous and, like, “Duh, of course!” (smiles).
So, when people ask how does it feel, I say I feel great, I think I look great, I think my skin looks great, and I am here to root for all brown girls, black girls, all of us. We are beautiful in our own right and never let anyone tell us otherwise.
Representation is important, especially for the younger generation. What we see is really powerful, and the more that we can see ourselves on the screen, and the more diversity we see, it helps us connect with each other in the world, and how we think about ourselves and our own ambitions. I’m so proud to be a part of the dark skin girl club.
You were named one of Variety’s 2021 Brits To Watch, and now you’ve received the International Golden Nymph for Most Promising Talent. What does this kind of recognition do for your career?
It’s a huge privilege, and think it’s a really interesting experience. It hasn’t altered the way that I approach my work, in the sense that I just truly want to make smart decisions and be part of work that I’m proud of and feel that the world needs to see.
I think for movies, seeing a dark skin leading woman is something that we are still working towards and I’m just really proud to be a part of that movement.
I have two movies coming out this year, one is more culturally specific but it’s a rom-com, and growing up I never saw a girl that looked like me leading a rom-com. I love romcoms! I produced it with 42 M&P and it’s coming out on Prime this summer. I’m just so proud that this one is for the brown girls; we deserve to see ourselves get the guy and be that Bridget Jones kind of character.
I’m also doing a psychological thriller, which is coming out this year, and that one is very non-culturally specific. I remember reading the script and I wasn’t sure if they were going to cast me, because it is a psychological thriller inspired by true events and it is essentially a woman’s journey after a very traumatic incident, about her finding her strength again. It was her family that chose me. So, it means a lot and I’m really nervous and excited to share that with the world.
Representatives for the Monaco Police Department and the United States’ FBI have signed a Memorandum of Understanding that will improve intelligence-related cooperation and informational exchanges between the two nations.
Information and intelligence gathering are hardly a 21st century phenomenon, but are increasingly crucial to the safety of all in a world filled with blatant threats to national security, whether terrorist, cyber or otherwise.
On 17th June, the Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI), the federal law enforcement agency of the United States, and the Monaco Police Department signed an accord that will lead to formal cooperative efforts pertaining to intelligence and information sharing.
The deal, signed by Jarrad Smith, Legal Attaché of the FBI at the Embassy of the United States of America in Paris, and Richard Marangoni, Controller-General of the Directorate of Public Security in the Principality of Monaco, marks the start of a new era of cooperation between the countries.
“The signing of this agreement perpetuates a long-standing and efficient cooperation with the FBI in a context of protean international threats,” said Marangoni. “The exchange of information for a cosmopolitan country like Monaco is essential.”
Smith concurred with the sentiments, saying on behalf of his agency, “The signing of this Memorandum of Understanding will facilitate cooperation between the United States and the Principality of Monaco to reduce security threats and the capabilities of criminal organisations and hostile state actors.”
Monaco and the United States have a long history of good international relations, dating back to the end of the American Civil War in 1865.
Renowned French sculptor Michel Bassompierre, whose ‘Giants of the Ice’ are currently on display at the Musée Océanographique de Monaco, recently shared his techniques and creative processes at a live sculpting session at the museum.
The special ‘Sculpter Le Vivant’ event, which was held on 14th June, saw Bassompierre craft a sculpture of a polar bear from clay on stage. While he moulded and shaped the animal, three experts from the worlds of science and exploration offered the audience their personal insights into the climate challenges facing the species and the polar regions.
The panel included glaciologist Heïdi Sevestre, polar bear specialist Rémy Marion and polar environment explorer Nicolas Dubreuil.
The goal of the event was to draw attention to the environmental threats facing polar biodiversity, a consistent message Bassompierre carries through all his artworks.
Bassompierre recently unveiled a collection of monumental sculptures at the Musée Océanographique de Monaco. ‘Les Géants des Glaces’ or ‘Giants of the Ice’ will be display until 6th October.
