FRED Film Radio - English Channel

PODCAST | Chiara Nicoletti interviews Dénes Nagy, Director of the film Natural Light.

With his debut into feature films from a long history in documentaries, Dénes Nagy proves his abilities as a very focused director, thanks to Natural Light, screening in competition at the 71est Berlinale. Dénes Nagy was just awarded with the Silver Bear for Best Director for a film choosing a simple man, a non-hero as its protagonist. Loosely based on Pál Závada’s novel, Natural Light focuses on Semetka, a farmer turned commander during World War II, who doesn’t want to be in charge and would like to run away as soon as he can. Can a man be good and weak at the same time? This is the question Dénes Nagy asks the film and the audience to answer.

Natural Light: World War II, occupied Soviet Union. István Semetka is a simple Hungarian farmer who serves as a Corporal in a special unit scouting for partisan groups. On their way to a remote village, his company falls under enemy fire. As the commander is killed, Semetka has to overcome his fears and take command of the unit as he is dragged into a chaos that he cannot control.

To discover more about the 71st edition of Berlin International Film Festival, click here.

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PODCAST | Matt Micucci interviews Christian Schwochow, Director of the film Je Suis Karl.

A conversation with German filmmaker Christian Schwochow, director of Je Suis Karl, a Special Gala film of the 2021 Berlin International Film Festival. Je Suis Karl explores the connection between the new generation and the rise of alt-right European ideas. In this interview, we talk about the origins of his collaboration with Thomas Wendrich and he also shares his thoughts on the burgeoning alt-right ideals, as well as whether he is a believer in Europeanist ideals. He also talks about integrating new media within his filmmaking style and shares with us his hopes that the film will be viewed by a young audience of the same age range as its protagonists.

Je Suis Karl: Somewhere in Berlin. But not just any time, this is here and now. A postman delivers a parcel and, soon afterwards, everything changes. A terrorist attack rocks a family to the core. Maxi- who loses her mother, her brothers and her home – tries to look forward, but is still deeply insecure. Nothing seems to work. Her father Alex is as traumatised as she is. The certainties of the past have been wiped out and the grief that comes with their loss obscures everything. Meeting another young person seems to help Maxi. Karl liberates her from her paralysis and urges her to conquer her fear. He has organised a meeting of European students who are looking for solutions to the catastrophic situation on the continent. The task he assigns Maxi could be the deciding factor in the success of a grand plan. By joining forces with Karl, Maxi is dancing on a knife edge: today in Berlin, tomorrow in Prague, soon in Strasbourg and eventually all over Europe. Je suis Karl – a political takeover.

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PODCAST | Matt Micucci interviews Bardia Yadegari, Ehsan Mirhosseini, Directors of the film District Terminal.

A conversation with Bardia Yadegari and Ehsan Mirhosseini, directors, writers and actors of a new film called District Terminal, presented in the Encounters section of the 2021 Berlin International Film Festival. The film revolves around a struggling, drug addicted poet and his growing frustrations and with censorship and lack of opportunities. In this film, the directors talk about the origins of their collaborations and the autobiographical elements of the movies. They also talk the film’s environmental themes, the independent way in which they were able to bring it to life, as well as how they believe this movie differs from the other Iranian works that make the international film festival rounds throughout the year.

District Terminal: Tehran in the near future. Pollution and a lethal virus have reduced the city to a dump and forced the population to emigrate or live in quarantine. Peyman is a poet and a junkie who lives with his mother in a neighbourhood that has been placed under round-the-clock surveillance by quarantine officers. Struggling to survive, Peyman divides his days between spending time with his no-less-bewildered teenage daughter, a woman living in the USA whom he has married in order to emigrate, conversations with his two closest friends Ramin and Mozhgan, and an illicit affair with a girl with whom he is hopelessly in love. Rumours of an imminent war are growing and one by one Peyman’s friends are departing, leaving him alone and tormented by ghosts. In which world does Peyman live, the real or the fictional? In which of the two will he find redemption?

The post Bardia Yadegari, Ehsan Mirhosseini – District Terminal #Berlinale2021 appeared first on Fred Film Radio.

PODCAST | Chiara Nicoletti interviews Radu Jude, Director of the film Bad Luck Banging or Loony Porn.

From the first seconds of the film’s screening, Radu Jude’s Bad Luck Banging or Loony Porn immediately classified as the director’s most irreverent work. At the 71st Berlinale, the film just won a well deserved Golden Bear for his astonishing depiction of modern Romania ( and today’s world) contradictions, especially when it comes to sex, relationships and women. Divided in three acts or sketches as the director suggests, the final relies on three possibile endings with an endless discussion and so many points of view. Bad Luck Banging or Loony Porn is also a very feminist film and it aims at shaking the audience’s consciences and views and at provoking strong reactions as any good film should do.

Bad Luck Banging or Loony Porn: Emi, a school teacher, finds her career and reputation under threat after a personal sex tape is leaked on the Internet. Forced to meet the parents demanding her dismissal, Emi refuses to surrender to their pressure. Radu Jude (Aferim!) delivers an incendiary mix of unconventional form, irreverent humour and scathing commentary on hypocrisy and prejudice in our societies.

To discover more about the 71st edition of Berlin International Film Festival, click here.

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PODCAST | Chiara Nicoletti interviews Maria Speth, Director of the film Mr Bachmann and his class.

Maria Speth, director of Mr Bachmann and his class, screening in competition at the 71st Berlinale, just won the Silver Bear Jury Prize for her complete and detailed look into the life of unconventional and inspiring teacher Dieter Bachmann and his everyday work in a class composed by smart children, coming from different countries and backgrounds in the provincial German industrial town they live in. To quote Maria Speth’s words, Mr Bachman and his class’ 217 mins are: “an open- ended observation and the unprejudiced encounter with these people”. Even if Maria Speth points out that the film wasn’t a thesis about the reality of the Federal Republic as an immigration country or the presentation of an alternative pedagogic model, Mr Bachman and his class shows us a virtuous model and an inspiring teacher and the film does help people and the audience to open their mind.

Mr Bachmann and his class: an intimate documentary portraying the bond between an elementary school teacher and his students. His unconventional methods clash with the complex social and cultural realities of the provincial German industrial town they live in.

To discover more about the 71st edition of Berlin International Film Festival, click here.

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PODCAST | Chiara Nicoletti interviews Jess Hall, Director of Photography of the series WandaVision.

To listen to this programme, click on the ► icon on the right, just above the picture

While waiting for the final episode of WandaVision to be released on Disney+ around the world, director of Photography Jess Hall reveals the secrets behind his work as cinematographer on this ambitious, successful and experimental project. We all know that WandaVision managed to display the “adventures” of Wanda and Vision through different time periods along 9 episodes. Visually speaking, we have to thank Jess Hall for his playing with the references and influences from those time periods and the sitcoms from those years while making sure to give some continuity to the main story, the love story between the main characters. Jess Hall tells us more about the different lenses used for each episode and how he actually pursued and obtained that continuity and fluidity we enjoy in the show.

Marvel Studios’ captivating new series WandaVision, which premieres in early 2021 on Disney+. Starring Elizabeth Olsen and Paul Bettany, “WandaVision” marks the first series from Marvel Studios streaming exclusively on Disney+. The series is a blend of classic television and the Marvel Cinematic Universe in which Wanda Maximoff and Vision-two super-powered beings living idealized suburban lives-begin to suspect that everything is not as it seems.

To discover more about WandaVision, click here.

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PODCAST |Chiara Nicoletti interviews Don Hall, Carlos López Estrada, Osnat  Shurer, Adele Lim, Qui Nguyen, directors, producer and screenwriters of the film Raya and the last dragon.

To listen to this programme, click on the ► icon on the right, just above the picture

Directors Don Hall and Carlos López Estrada along with producer Osnat Shurer and screenwriters Adele Lim and Qui Nguyen introduce the upcoming release on Disney + of their Raya and the Last Dragon, an epic adventure starring a young woman Raya and her battle to unite, with the blessing of a dragon power, the world she belongs to and that she saw being torned apart by differences and hate. The directors with the producer and screenwriters comment on the characters of the film being very nuanced and very far from being one-sided.

Raya and the last dragon: Long ago, in the world of Kumandra, humans and dragons lived together in harmony. But when sinister monsters known as the Druun threatened the land, the dragons sacrificed themselves to save humanity. Now, 500 years later, those same monsters have returned and it’s up to a lone warrior, Raya, and her pet pill bug companion Tuk Tuk, to track down the last dragon in order to finally stop the Druun for good. However, along her journey, she’ll learn that it’ll take more than dragon magic to save the world—it’s going to take trust as well.

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PODCAST | Matt Micucci interviews Norika Sefa, director of the film Looking for Venera.

A conversation with Norika Sefa, director of Looking for Venera, winner of a Special Jury Prize at the 2021 International Film Festival Rotterdam. This movie is a coming-of-age drama about a young girl’s growing desire for freedom and independence, set in a small town in Kosovo. It is also Norika Sefa’s feature debut. In this interview, we talk about her interest in the distinctive setting of the story, how she worked with her young cast and also how FirstCutLab helped her movie come to life.

Looking for Venera: Calm, taciturn teenager Venera lives in a small village in Kosovo. At home, three generations are constantly under one another’s feet in their cramped house, so she has hardly any privacy. Outside too, on the streets and in the café, it’s not much better: the village is small and there’s always a brother, nephew or neighbour keeping a beady eye on her. A girl is expected above all else to protect her good reputation – and that of her family.

The post Norika Sefa – Looking for Venera #IFFR2021 appeared first on Fred Film Radio.

PODCAST | Matt Micucci interviews Felia Allum, curator of the Donne di Mafia Film Festival.

A conversation with Felia Allum, senior lecturer of the department of politics, languages and international studies at the University of Bath and curator of the Donne di Mafia Film Festival, organized and hosted by CinemaItaliaUK. This mini film festival will take place online on March 6-8, and sheds a light upon wommen in Italian mafias by exploring their portraial in contemporary Italian cinema. Along with a curated film program, the Donne di Mafia Film Festival will also feature Q&A sessions and panel discussions. Aside from speaking about the festival itself, Felia Allum shares with us here her thoughts about the portrayal of women in films about organized crime and her research on the topic of the role of women in transnational organized crime.

To discover more about the Donne di Mafia Film Festival, click here.

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