Hollywood
Columbia Gorge International Film Festival to screen 224 films
NEW DELHI: An exciting variety of 224 films which includes feature length, short films, narratives and documentaries from around the world will be screened at the 7th Columbia Gorge International Film Festival (CGIFF).
The festival starting from 1 August will be held for a period of 17 days in the Vancouver city of Washington DC.
The witty comedy Frank v/s God opens the festival screening at the beautiful Angaelica Farms. Writer and Director Stewart Schill will attend the event and participate in a post-screening Q&A. A live music performance from The Solars will precede the screening.
CGIFF is a production of Angaelica, a non-profit organisation rooted in the arts and ecology. Unlike many film festivals, the CGIFF experience really shares its home with outdoor screenings and exciting non-film programming; bridging the vibrant experience of the Pacific Northwest to film festival audiences and filmmakers alike.
There will be workshops and guest conversation events on screenwriting, casting and animation, apart from a curated lineup of live music and stand-up comedy performances.
The festival includes ‘Yatra’ a short film by Mayur Bondre which is a photographic expedition in six cities of India – Mumbai, Pune, Benares, Allahabad, Agra, and Delhi to learn the concepts of life, identity, love, culture spirituality and moksha.
On select dates, the CGIFF takes a break from their screening schedule and dedicates these days to enjoying specially programmed outdoor Activities.
“It is such a beautiful environment up here”, stated CGIFF founder and executive director Breven Warren.
“We consider the fest an exchange, of sorts. One where fantastic filmmakers can share their work with our audiences and in return our audiences essentially share the sights and gifts of their gorgeous backyard,” he added.
Hollywood
Remembering Chuck Norris: the man, the myth, the legend at 86
From martial arts legend to internet folklore, fans honour his final level up
KAUAI: The world lost a legend on 19 March 2026, when Chuck Norris died aged 86. For a man long treated as immortal in internet folklore, the news felt almost unreal. Yet in true Norris fashion, the farewell has been less about mourning and more about myth-making.
Just days before his passing, on his 86th birthday, Norris shared a video from Kauaʻi, Hawaii, showing him sparring under the sun. His caption was characteristically wry: “I don’t age. I level up.” It now reads like a final wink to fans who had spent years elevating him to near-superhuman status.
His death followed a sudden medical emergency while on holiday. He passed away peacefully, surrounded by family, who described him not just as a global symbol of strength, but as a devoted husband, father and grandfather.
Online, grief quickly gave way to tribute in the language Norris helped popularise. Social media filled with one last wave of “Chuck Norris Facts”, the tongue-in-cheek myths that turned him into a digital demigod. The jokes wrote themselves, as always. Death did not take Norris, it finally dared to meet him.
Behind the humour, however, lies a formidable real-world legacy.
Long before the memes, Norris was Carlos Ray Norris, a decorated martial artist. After serving in the US Air Force, he rose to become a six-time world professional middleweight karate champion. His on-screen duel with Bruce Lee in Way of the Dragon remains one of cinema’s most iconic fight sequences.
Through the 1980s, he became the face of action cinema with films such as Missing in Action and The Delta Force, embodying a stoic, no-nonsense hero. In the 1990s, he reached living rooms worldwide as Cordell Walker in Walker, Texas Ranger, blending Western grit with martial arts flair.
Off-screen, his work carried equal weight. His foundation, Kickstart Kids, continues to teach martial arts to at-risk youth, focusing on discipline and self-worth. He also founded Chun Kuk Do, a martial arts system that trained thousands.
What made Norris unique was not just his strength, but his willingness to laugh at it. When the internet transformed him into an exaggerated symbol of invincibility, he embraced the joke. In doing so, he bridged generations, from cinema-goers to meme-makers.
His passing marks more than the loss of an action star. It signals the fading of a rare cultural crossover, where genuine athletic prowess met Hollywood heroism and early internet humour.
For many, remembering Chuck Norris means recalling a time when heroes were simple, punches were decisive and the internet still felt like a playground of shared jokes.
And if the myths are to be believed, this is not quite the end. It is simply Chuck Norris moving on to his next level.
