Kenneth Branagh, Olivia Cooke to voice ‘Fireheart’ leads

Kenneth Branagh will play Olivia Cooke’s father in the film. (AFP)  
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Updated 11 November 2020
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Kenneth Branagh, Olivia Cooke to voice ‘Fireheart’ leads

DUBAI: Irish actor Kenneth Branagh and British actress Olivia Cooke are set to voice the lead characters in upcoming animated family adventure “Fireheart.” 

The stars will be joined by “The Walking Dead” actress Laurie Holden and “Star Trek” actor William Shatner. 




Olivia Cooke will voice Georgia Nolan, the 16-year-old girl. (AFP)

“Fireheart” is set in New York in the 1920s and tells the story of a 16-year-old girl, played by Cooke, who dreams of becoming the world’s first female firefighter. Branagh will play Cooke’s father in the film.  

The highly-anticipated movie is directed and produced by French filmmakers Laurent Zeitoun and Yann Zenou. 

Zeitoun co-wrote the film with Daphne Ballon and Jennica Harper.

The film is expected to be ready for release in 2021. 


Lebanese singer Fayrouz’s second son dies just months after his brother

Updated 08 January 2026
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Lebanese singer Fayrouz’s second son dies just months after his brother

  • Hali Rahbani’s passing described as ‘painful loss’ to family
  • Elder brother, composer Ziad, died in July last year

LONDON: Hali Rahbani, the son of renowned Lebanese singer Fayrouz and her late husband, composer Assi Rahbani, has died at the age of 68.

Lebanon’s Minister of Information Paul Morcos announced the news on X. He described it as a “painful loss for a family that has given Lebanon and the world an invaluable artistic and humanitarian legacy.”

Rahbani’s death comes less than six months after his brother, Ziad, the acclaimed composer and playwright, died at the age of 69.

Hali, who had physical and intellectual disabilities, was confined to a wheelchair and was cared for by his mother. He was last seen in public in July at his brother’s funeral in Beirut, which was attended by thousands of mourners.

Fayrouz, 91, had four children with Rahbani. The elder of her two daughters, Layal, died in 1988 at the age of 29. Her second daughter, Rima, born in 1965, is an artist and singer.

The Rahbani family were key figures in Lebanon’s golden era of musical theater from the late 1950s to 1975.