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Acclaimed Mexican director Alejandro Gonzalez-Inarritu knew he was in a bad way when the film critics who loved his drama "Biutiful" kept calling it bleak, dark and depressing. Those adjectives scared off distributors, particularly in the United States, where the director said "everyone was really afraid of the film" about a dying man played by Javier Bardem. gucci scarf It took four months to find a U.S. distributor, but now "Biutiful" is playing in major cities and is a front-runner for best foreign language film at Sunday's Oscars, presented by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. Bardem, the Spanish Oscar winner, is nominated for best actor. But the director of "Babel and "21 Grams" still said it was "very tough." Gonzalez-Inarritu is the most well known of the five directors who met Saturday for a pre-Oscar symposium, but like his fellow nominees he suffers the stresses of making films far from the comforts of the Hollywood studio system. Whether it is hard-to-digest subject matter or shoestring budgets, these directors fought some epic battles on their way to Hollywood's biggest night. The Greek director of bizarre family drama "Dogtooth," Yorgos Lanthimos, works on a laughably low budget but now can't get state financing because of Greece's debt crisis. Burberry scarf Algeria's Rachid Bouchareb of "Outside the Law" had to fight to get his film screened at Cannes due to political opposition in France to his depiction of the Algerian fight for independence. Susanne Bier, the Danish director of "In a Better World," about young boys battling bullies and split families, used her financial limitations to get a sharper focus on the boys. Canada's Denis Villeneuve, director of the dark drama "Incendies" filmed partly in the Middle East, edited before he shot to reduce waste on the cutting room floor. PARTICULARLY GRIM YEAR Every year, the Oscars briefly shine their spotlight on the exotic world of foreign-language films, which often provide a departure from mainstream commercial movies and the widely palatable productions of the United States. This year is no different. The foreign-language films up for Oscar contention are indeed bleak, dark and depressing. gucci wallet In fact, of the 66 films submitted to the Academy, only one was a comedy. The day Sweden's "Simple Simon" screened for the selection committee, it was met with loud cheering, but no nomination, alas. "What really struck me this year was what we saw in 66 movies ... a seriousness, a grimness and even bleakness that I don't remember in our recent past," said Hollywood producer Mark Johnson, chairman of the foreign language film award committee. For Johnson, the lack of relief in these films reflects both the minds of the filmmakers and the state of the world. On Gonzalez-Inarritu's mind was the last 75 days of a human being. He was lucky to get financial backing for the $20 million "Biutiful" when the economy was still somewhat rosy. "I started shooting one month before the economic collapse in 2008," he said. "This film would never be financed again. A guy who is dying? It's just impossible."

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450 million Chinese people older than 60 by 2050, say observers BEIJING - Zuo Ping bitterly regrets not seeing more of his parents during the last years of their lives so when he returned to China after two decades in the United States he was determined to set up a business helping the elderly. "Caring for the old is important but there are not many businesses engaged in it in China so I decided to look for an opportunity to do so," said the former equity management company owner. Burberry scarf According to the Ministry of Civil Affairs, there were about 167 million over the age of 60 in China at the end of 2009 - 12.5 percent of the entire population. Analysts say the number of people older than 60 is increasing by 3 percent a year, reaching a total of 450 million by 2050. Zuo, who is in his 50s, has managed an accommodation block for the elderly for two years since 2009 in Beihai, Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region, where the climate is similar to California's balmy weather. Unlike traditional Chinese nursing homes, Zuo's business puts special focus on the needs of his residents by providing a room in which they can chat, entertainment centers and a gymnasium. "The people who come here are thinking ahead. They realize that it is a more healthy option," he said. Zuo added that many of the retirees come from big cities and are willing to pay for the privilege but are nonetheless initially wary because they harbor suspicions about China's healthcare system. gucci wallet Zuo said he rented a traditional nursing home and spent several million yuan on refurbishing it. He charges between 1,000 ($152) and 1,300 yuan a month inclusive of food and lodging. According to Money Weekly, a Shanghai-based financial magazine, nursing homes in Beijing and Shanghai generally charge from 1,000 yuan to 2,000 yuan a month, depending on the level of service. Higher-end ones can cost 5,000 yuan a month or more. "The first two years were difficult but now I have begun to make a profit," said Zuo. According to the businessman, few overseas enterprises have invested in China's vast market for care of the elderly. He is encouraging them to bring products, equipment and management skills to it.

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GUANGZHOU - Finance authorities in this southern city said they will unveil an official breakdown of the spending on the Asian Games at an appropriate time after criticism from local legislators who are claiming the sporting spectacle left the city in a huge hole. The promise of a detailed financial breakdown came after comments from Zhong Nanshan, a deputy with the Guangzhou People's Congress, who said there was a big financial gap after the local authorities invested what he claimed was 257.7 billion yuan ($38.4 billion) on the games. louie vuitton outlet Zhong claimed Guangzhou had only expected to spend 195 billion yuan on the games. He claimed the debt from the games and other debts that the city has run up during the past five years has left it owing 210 billion yuan. Zhong did not say how he came up with the numbers. "How will the city government find the money to improve people's living standards with such heavy debts to pay in the years ahead?" Zhong was quoted as saying by Guangzhou Daily. Many other deputies at the local people's congress have joined Zhong in calling on the government to unveil its official report on the cost of the games. "Guangzhou's budget income was less than 100 billion yuan last year. Where does this huge investment in the games come from? The government should give the public an explanation," said Zheng Jingping, a deputy with the Guangdong Provincial People's Congress. coach purses sale In response, Zhang Jieming, director of Guangzhou finance bureau, said the income and expenditure for the Asian Games basically balances. "I don't know what sources Zhong Nanshan cited. You reporters should ask him how he got his figure," Zhang told Guangzhou- based Yangcheng Evening News on Thursday. The expenditure directly used for the games was 13.6 billion yuan, with more than 100 billion yuan also invested in improving urban infrastructure during the past five years, Zhang said. Prior to the games' opening, Guangzhou Mayor Wan Qingliang said the investment in the games had been kept within the budget and amounted to about 120 billion yuan. "I haven't exchanged views on the games budget with Zhong," said Zhang. "So far, there has not been a complete financial report. This is normal. There are several figures related to the games budget and we will unveil the official financial accounts at the proper time." In addition to the large amount of money spent on the Asian Games last year, a 38-million-yuan budget proposal was submitted to the local people's congress for review this year, according to the draft of the local financial budget for 2011. wholesale coach purses Some of that money is likely to be needed to offset money spent on training volunteers and throwing a reception for foreign guests during the games. It will also help fund the documentation of the games. Guangzhou has a budget for government expenditure totaling 103.8 billion yuan for 2011. Its budgeted income is expected to reach 89.7 billion yuan. Guangzhou registered general financial revenues of 334.8 billion yuan last year, of which more than 240 billion was turned over to the provincial and central authorities. Guangzhou hosted the 16th Asian Games and the Asian Para Games in November and December last year.

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LOS ANGELES - Seniors who keep a busy social life are less likely to become disabled, according to a new study published by HealthDay News on Monday. Researchers at Rush University in Chicago came to the conclusion after examining 954 elderly people, average age 82, who had no type of disability at the start of the study period, said the report. gucci outlet The participants underwent yearly physical and mental evaluations and provided information about their social activities, such as going out to eat, playing bingo, doing volunteer work, taking day or overnight trips, and participating in community groups, according to the report. The study found that compared to people with low levels of social activity, people who had high levels of social activity were about twice as likely to remain free of disabilities that hindered activities of daily living (such as feeding, bathing, dressing, using the toilet) and about 1.5 times more likely to remain free of disabilities that affected mobility or instrumental activities of daily living (for example, using the telephone, preparing meals and managing medications). "Social activity has long been recognized as an essential component of healthy aging, but now we have strong evidence that it is also related to better everyday functioning and less disability in old age," lead researcher Bryan James, postdoctoral fellow in epidemiology of aging and dementia at Rush Alzheimer's Disease Center, said in a university news release. polo outlet "The findings are exciting because social activity is potentially a risk factor that can be modified to help older adults avoid the burdens of disability," he added. It's not clear how social activity helps prevent disability, but it may reinforce the neural networks and musculoskeletal function required to maintain physical function, James said. The study will be published in the April print issue of the Journal of Gerontology: Medical Sciences, according to HealthDay News.

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TIANJIN -- Two Chinese companies jointly won a bidding project for solar power equipment with the United Nations worth $81 million, said a representative for Peak International Trade (Tianjin) Co Ltd in east China municipality of Tianjin on Tuesday. In three years, Peak and Suntech Power Holdings Co Ltd, a leading producer of silicon solar modules in east China province of Jiangsu, will deliver the solar panels to UN Peacekeeping Forces and its subdivisions, said Yu Hongli, president of Peak International Trade (Tianjin) Co Ltd. wholesale handbags The success of the bidding process represented the strength of Chinese companies and the advantages of its technologies in solar power and energy savings, Yu said. According to the agreement, the first batch of solar panels will be delivered to the logistics base of the United Nations to show and promote the utilities to all subdivisions. Annual purchases by the United Nations are worth about $14 billion, while Chinese enterprises receive about only 1 percent of these. louie vuitton outlet It is a good starting point for Peak and Suntech to win the bidding project, said Wan Jifei, the chairman of the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade (CCPIT).

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