Having portrayed an award-winning Heathcliff, James Howson is now back on the dole

The first sex worker film festival in London will be held next month, featuring documentaries and short films about the fight for human and labour rights.

A team of horses and an old-fashioned tractor might not be the standard tools of an artist, but they are fundamental to Evewright, who uses the British coastline as his canvas.

Today: The Pavillon de la Reine in Paris has a new sibling. The Pavillon des Lettres is a new hotel with 26 rooms that each take on a letter of the alphabet. Set a short stroll from foodie-hub, Place de la Madeleine, the hotel features sleek, understated design (pavillondeslettres.com).

Frank Capra once observed that: "The Oscar is the most valuable, but least expensive, item of world-wide public relations ever invented by any industry." A glance at this year's nominations suggests why the Academy Awards are still as alluring as ever. This year's ceremony will see fantasy extravaganzas such as Avatar and Inglourious Basterds go up against gritty, low-budget jewels like The Hurt Locker and Precious. There's also an animated film, Up, in the best film category. Hollywood's big awards will be a broad church.