Demonic possession, Drake and a dazzling tribute to French footballing icon Zinedine Zidane.
ADVERTISEMENTIn our continued efforts to help battle cultural overwhelm, these are our top picks for what to watch, visit and listen to this week.
Exhibition
The Philharmonie de Paris is opening a wonderfully unique new immersive installation focused on French footballing icon Zinédine Zidane, who won the FIFA World Cup in 1998, the UEFA Euro 2000 then went on to coach Real Madrid to win Spain's La Liga and the UEFA Champions League.
'Zidane, a portrait of the 21st century' is based on a documentary of the same name. The goal of artists Douglas Gordon and Philippe Parreno is to immerse visitors in a poetic, multi-dimensional football match. The show takes place on 17 giant screens with a spatialised soundtrack that combines the noise of the stadium with original compositions from Scottish band Mogwai.
Art
If you're in London, head over to renowned Korean sculptural painter Ilhwa Kim's new show at HOFA (House of Fine Art) Gallery before it ends on 11 October.Tactile Hands highlights the importance of bodily movement and all that it represents through Kim's striking sculptural paintings, which are composed of tens of thousands of seed units.
Also in the UK capital, the city's biggest and most influential art event is back for its 20th anniversary. From 11-15 October, Frieze London and Frieze Masters sees Regent's Park populated with a plethora of cultural, musical and digital events that celebrate the very best of global contemporary art.
Frieze Sculpture is already open in Regent's Park if you fancy a weird and wonder-filled wander alongside sculptural spectacles.
Film
Artificial intelligence (AI) often gets a bad rap in popular culture. From The Terminator to Ex Machina, robots are usually portrayed as evil killing machines set on taking over humanity. The real world advent of large language models such as ChatGPT (and subsequent terrifying headlines) have hardly helped ease peoples' paranoia - but Gareth Edward's new film The Creator just might.
Set 40 years from now, as a war between humans and AI ravages the planet, ex-special forces agent Joshua (John David Washington) discovers that a powerful and potentially deadly weapon is actually a humanoid robot in the form of a small child.
If the power of Christ compels you, the sixth instalment of The Exorcist franchise is also out in cinemas: The Exorcist: Believer. Directed by David Gordon Green (Halloween Kills, Pineapple Express) and coinciding its release with the 50-year anniversary of the 1973 original, it's another excellent day for an exorcism (although one that might make the late, great William Friedkin turn in his grave).
Music
Perhaps the biggest event in music releases this week is Drake's new album, 'For All the Dogs'. Saviour it, as the Canadian rapper has just announced that's he taking an indefinite break from the studio and live concerts to deal with 'stomach issues that have been hurting him for years'. Having previously been delayed from the end of September, it's now available to stream on Spotify.
For a very different vibe, Oscar-nominated indie singer-songwriter Sufjan Stevens - who recently shared his Guillain-Barré Syndrome diagnosis - has released his album 'Javelin'.
TV
For those with a Netflix subscription (and for those without, you might want to get one soon because the streaming service is reportedly considering upping its prices once again), David Beckham's new documentary series launched this week.
"Beckham" offers a fascinatingly candid look inside the football legend's life, exploring the highs and lows of his career, personal relationships and upbringing.
If you're UK-based, the final season of cosy comedy 'Ghosts' is now available on BBC's iPlayer. The show follows a young couple who inherit an old house that turns out to be haunted by an eccentric group of playful poltergeists. Spirited shenanigans ensue.
The God of Mischief is also back for season 2 of 'Loki' on Disney+, while Season 3 of French thriller series 'Lupin', about a professional thief, is out on Netflix.
Comedy
A champion of women and female-identifying comedic talent, the Women in Comedy Festival is celebrating its 10th anniversary with a series of shows at The Frog and Bucket in Manchester, UK from the 6-15 October.
Highlights include Australian comic (and co-creator of hit TV show 'Colin from Accounts') Harriet Dyer's 'Mother'; Welsh stand-up Kiri Pritchard's 'McLean' and South African comedian and actress Thenjiwe Moseley's 'The Mandela Effect'.
