Filipino composer Susie Ibarra gets Pulitzer Prize for Music
This latest win further extends Ibarra's distinguished track record across music, education and environmental activism. As the founder of Susie Ibarra Studio and Habitat Sounds, she operates at the crossroads of acoustic innovation, ecological responsibility and equity.
Her works span documenting traditional soundscapes from Indigenous communities, spotlighting the impacts of melting glaciers, and backing educational initiatives such as Joudour Sahara in Morocco.
Born and raised in Houston to Filipino parents, Ibarra's musical journey blends Western classical training with the rich traditions of Philippine kulintang. Her career encompasses a diverse range of genres, including avant-garde jazz, opera, electronic music and theatre. Among her many honours are fellowships from the American Academy of Arts and Letters, the DAAD Artists-in-Berlin Program, and United States Artists.
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Tatler Asia
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- Tatler Asia
6 Asian-origin cocktails to know (and order with confidence), from the Singapore Sling to gin pahit
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Tatler Asia
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Manny Pacquiao inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame, says ‘the best is still to come'
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Tatler Asia
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Movie review: the new ‘How to Train Your Dragon' is a rare remake that earns its wings
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Gerard Butler, reprising his role as Stoick the Vast, gives a performance that is physically imposing as it is emotionally weathered, a father trying and often failing to understand a son he's afraid to lose. Above Mason Thames as Hiccup with Toothless during their first flight (Photo: DreamWorks) This remake is not interested in subverting its own legend. It recreates many of the original's most iconic scenes: the fish-sharing moment, the wordless bonding sequences, the soaring flight through the clouds—but filters them through a more human lens. Visually, it is sumptuous. Cinematographer Bill Pope captures Berk not as a cartoon world inflated to IMAX size, but as a harsh, wind-carved land dotted with firelight and fog. When Hiccup and Toothless finally take flight, the result is nothing but awe, a physical and emotional lightness that is earned. Above Toothless in the 2025 live remake of 'How to Train Your Dragon' (Photo: DreamWorks) Crucially, the dragons still feel like dragons. Unlike the CGI dead eyes of The Lion King , these creatures straddle the line between believability and myth. Toothless, in particular, retains just enough of his animated expressiveness to remain emotionally legible; a marvel, somewhere between a panther, a cat and a curious child. Not everything translates cleanly. The slapstick humour that worked in the animated version sometimes lands with an awkward thud in live-action form. There's a stiffness to some of the early scenes, as if the film is still adjusting to its own new skin. And viewers who grew up with the 2010 version may find themselves caught in a kind of vertigo: this is both the film they know and not, and its closeness can be mildly disconcerting. See more: From controller to screen: 5 TV shows adapted from video games to watch Above Mason Thames as Hiccup and Nico Parker as Astrid in 'How to Train Your Dragon' (2025) (Photo: DreamWorks) But as it settles in, the film begins to do something rather beautiful. Astrid, portrayed by Nico Parker, goes beyond being a romantic interest; this time, she is more natural, a co-conspirator. The dynamic between Hiccup and Stoick, always the emotional axis of the story, feels more bruised and lived-in now. There's real friction, and real grace, in their reconciliation. And that's the win of this remake: it doesn't chase reinvention for its own sake. Instead, it treats the original story as a myth worth retelling. What the live-action of How to Train Your Dragon offers is novelty and clarity. It reminds us why we were drawn to this world in the first place. Above Mason Thames as Hiccup with Toothless (Photo: DreamWorks) Above Toothless in the 2025 live remake of 'How to Train Your Dragon' (Photo: DreamWorks) By the final act, when dragons and Vikings fight not against each other but for each other, the film achieves that rare thing in blockbuster cinema: sincerity without sentimentality. It's no surprise a sequel is already in the works. 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