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Pink Floyd co-founder Roger Waters has always mixed art with activism. A long-standing supporter of the Palestinian cause, the star guitarist has now released a re-imagined version of the rock anthem "Comfortably Numb" with Palestinian American singer Mona Miari singing in Arabic. He tells FRANCE 24's Lyana Saleh why proceeds of the record are going to the Palestine Children's Relief Fund and why he can never become "Comfortably Numb" with the violence and suffering in Gaza.

A passport photo, a selfie, an award-winning film and even the evening news: all of them were made possible thanks to a "fantastic machine", the camera. As France celebrates the bicentenary of the first fixed photographic image, we discuss the image-obsessed society we live in with filmmaker Maximilien Van Aertryck and artist Alina Frieske.  In his award-winning documentary "What a fantastic machine!", Maximilien explores the industry that swiftly grew up around photography, and its capacity to influence, manipuate and entertain. We also learn more about Alina's very personal use of photographic material in her artwork, which interrogates the aesthetics and politics of self-representation in the age of social media.

New French film "Women on trial" revisits the landmark case in 1972 that paved the way for abortion legislation in France. Critic Manon Kerjean tells us why performances from Charlotte Gainsbourg and Cécile de France carry this powerful courtroom drama and how its directors recreated the tension of a high-profile social and legal battle. Meanwhile, "Jupiter" takes us to the underground control room of a French president, played by Denis Ménochet, as he negotiates a nuclear threat. Plus actor Cédric Kahn goes behind the caméra for his tragi-comic study of a teenage pyschiatric unit in "A Place to Heal", with standout performances from his young actors and the director himself as a psychiatrist.

Melanie Chisholm rose to fame in the 1990s with one of the world's biggest girl bands: the Spice Girls. "Melanie C", "Mel C" and "Sporty Spice" were her nicknames. She went on to have a successful solo career with several hits in the 2000s, including "Never Be The Same Again" with the late Lisa Left Eye from TLC. In recent years, she's taken up DJing electronic dance music and recently released her ninth studio album "Sweat". Marjorie Hache caught up with the fitter-than-ever ex-Spice Girl.

From the global success of "Waka Waka" to her forthcoming second solo album "People Power", South Africa's Zolani Mahola has built a career around the power of music to bring people together. As the frontwoman of multiracial, multi-genre band Freshlyground, she became one of the defining voices of a new, democratic South Africa. Her music reached millions around the world when she joined Shakira on the 2010 World Cup anthem "Waka Waka". Now pursuing a solo career since 2019, Mahola is preparing to release her second album and will soon be the focus of a new documentary directed by Pippa Ehrlich, who won an Oscar for "My Octopus Teacher".  Eve Jackson caught up with her at FAME Week Africa in Cape Town.

This week on arts24, we're bringing you a double dose of European punk. Elias Bender Rønnenfelt is a singer with Copenhagen's finest post-punk export, Iceage. The group is currently touring Europe, and he is stopping off in Paris this week to play the Pitchfork festival solo. We also welcome Chris Hughes from Fat Dog. Born in South London in 2020 during lockdown, Fat Dog have just released their second album "Cancel Me (I'm Tired)", which will thrill synth lovers and punk rockers alike. They are currently touring France and Europe.

In this edition of arts24, "Le Fantôme de l'Opéra" returns to French cinemas in a contemporary reinterpretation starring Deva Cassel and Romain Duris. We take a closer look. Meanwhile, millions are expected to pour into York this Halloween. The English city is said to be Europe's most haunted. A new art space opens on Paris's Île Seguin, once home to a Renault car factory, while another exhibition in the French capital reimagines the revolutionary ideas of Bissau-Guinean and Cape Verdean agricultural engineer Amilcar Cabral. Finally, we report on how choreographer Angelin Preljocaj is turning the anger of a generation into dance.

Booker Prize-winning author Ian McEwan sits down with Olivia Salazar-Winspear to discuss the 22nd century society he created in "What We Can Know", as his latest novel is translated into French. While his characters grapple with the aftermath of the great "derangement", in a world where many of the 21st century's capital cities have been submerged, we discuss our upcoming reckoning with the climate crisis.  This latest novel's narrative revolves around a mythical lost poem, drawing academics into its pursuit; we consider the cult of the celebrity artist and ponder the possible death of reading. McEwan also shares his views on how artificial intelligence has the capacity to reshape human civilisation.

Four very different films arrive in French cinemas this week, and arts24 critic Emma Jones has seen them all. Martin McDonagh's "Wild Horse Nine" reunites him with an A-list cast. John Malkovich, who won the Volpi Cup for Best Actor at Venice, plays a dying CIA agent in 1973 Chile, alongside Sam Rockwell. Emma calls it her favourite McDonagh film since "In Bruges" and a must see. Also out this week is "Godzilla Minus Zero", the follow-up to the Oscar-winning "Godzilla Minus One". In "Club Kid", comedian Jordan Firstman writes, directs and stars as a hard-partying New Yorker who discovers he has a 10-year-old son. Finally, "Hope" is Na Hong-jin's first film in a decade, a sci-fi monster spectacle with a budget of around $75 million. Catch the full reviews in this edition of arts24.

In this arts24 music show, Jennifer Ben Brahim brings us a roundup of the big music releases and news of the week, from US rapper Macklemore's charity stadium shows to raise money for Palestine, to the return of R'n'B crooner John Legend with his 11th album "Muse" – his first collaboration with close friend Pharrell Williams.  We also chat with French band Chest, who have just released their debut album "Happy, Broken". It's a sonic blend of punk, shoegaze and industrial techno. Jennifer also talks about her albums of the week, from Queens of the Stone Age and Australian-Zambian rapper Sampa the Great.

Every year the art and design fair AKAA, or "Also Known as Africa", brings dozens of African and Afro-descendant artists to the French capital. As the 11th edition gets underway, we welcome Nigerian painter Midegbeyan Ojisua and South African artist Olivié Keck. Ojisua's ethereal paintings are inspired by the Italian Renaissance and the colour palette of Leonardo da Vinci in particular, with earthy tones emphasising the connection between humans and nature. Keck, meanwhile, sets faceless female figures against bright pop backgrounds – a nod to ancient Greek ceramic silhouettes that highlights femininity and elevates them to the status of divine beings. We discuss the two artists' latest work, their differing styles and a new generation of African art buyers.

Film critic Emma Jones and Dheepthika Laurent discuss the week's film releases. Olivia Colman and Alexander Skarsgård play an odd couple in the fantasy romance "Wicker" about love, society and the patriarchy.  In "Minotaur", Russian director Andriy Zvyagintsev offers us a modern version of Claude Chabrol's New Wave film "The Unfaithful Wife." Also out this week is "Whalefall," a tale of survival starring "Euphoria" star Austin Abrams, who plays a scuba diver stuck inside a whale's belly.

Saudi artists Reem Ali and Bashaer Hawsawi are showing installations that explore the domestic space, feminine spheres and the emotionally charged meaning of the table, in a group show presented by the Villa Hegra as part of the Asia Now art fair in Paris.  We hear about their use of unexpected materials to create sculptural and occasionally subversive artwork. We also discuss the rich creative exchanges prompted by the Franco-Saudi programme of residencies in Alula, Saudi Arabia as well as stints at the Cité des Arts in Paris.

TV critic Dheepthika Laurent takes us through this month's TV highlights, starting with the long-awaited return of "Lupin", Netflix's most-watched French series. Omar Sy is back as the gentleman thief, but this time someone appears to be stealing in his name. Can France's favourite master of disguise clear his name? Also on the menu is "War", a star-studded British divorce drama starring Sienna Miller and Dominic West as a high-profile couple locked in a bitter legal battle. Next is "Get Jiro", a wildly gory animated series based on the graphic novel by late chef and TV presenter Anthony Bourdain, imagining a post-apocalyptic Los Angeles where chefs rule through food and fear. Just in time for Halloween, horror maestro Mike Flanagan takes on Stephen King's "Carrie", reimagining the story of a bullied teenager with terrifying supernatural powers for a new generation. Plus, a "Girls" revival is on the horizon, with a five-episode return for the cult series that defined a generation.

This week on arts24, our French film critic Manon Kerjean covers thrillers, history, legend and animation. "Karma" reunites exes Guillaume Canet and Marion Cotillard on screen for a thriller about a woman fleeing her past and the cult she escaped. "Moulin" follows Resistance hero Jean Moulin's final days in captivity, while "Le Fantôme de l'Opéra" returns for a modern retelling, but do critics buy it? We also discuss "Iron Boy", Louis Clichy's animated coming-of-age story inspired by his own childhood.