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From the moment Padmaavat went into production, it's been plagued by violent protests over its depiction of Queen Padmavati, a legendary Hindu royal.

Ziad Doueiri's new Oscar-shortlisted film is about the religious and tribal divisions in contemporary Lebanon — and how a small altercation in Beirut can spiral out of control.

Filmmaker Fatih Akin says he made In the Fade to spotlight something terrorism stories often overlook: the victims. It follows a woman whose husband and 6-year old son have been murdered by neo-Nazis.

The Swedish movie which won top prize at this year's Cannes Film Festival skewers the cultural elite — the same kind of people who attend Cannes.

"When I touch the piano, it becomes an African instrument," says the pianist and composer, who has been bridging cultures through music for some 60 years.

One of India's biggest movie stars, Deepika Padukone, is making her Hollywood debut in xXx: Return of Xander Cage. She's hoping to replicate her massive Bollywood success on American movie screens.

French director Jacques Audiard won the top prize at the Cannes Film Festival for his story of a Tamil Tiger who gives up the fight to try and find a better life in France.

As an art student, Shahzia Sikander used her region's miniature painting tradition to tell the story of a modern Pakistani woman. Now her work has moved beyond the page into animation and video.

Though she's made careful study of the history of South Asian music, Zeb Bangash's career defies easy assumptions about art and Islam.

Navina Haidar, an Islamic art curator at the Met, says she isn't interested in ideology: "The only place where we allow ourselves any passion is in the artistic joy ... of something that's beautiful."