FRED Film Radio - English Channel

PODCAST | David Martos interviews Atom Egoyan, director of the film Guest of Honour.

Atom Egoyan talks to FRED about the performance of David Thewlis, his favourite part of filmmaking and the issue of Roman Polanski being in competition in Venice Film Festival

Guest of Honour: Jim and his daughter Veronica, a young high-school music teacher, attempt to unravel their complicated histories and intertwined secrets. After a hoax goes very wrong, Jim’s daughter is falsely convicted of abusing her position of authority over 17-year-old Clive. Veronica is nevertheless convinced she deserves to be punished, but for much earlier crimes. Confused and frustrated by Veronica’s intransigence, Jim’s anguish begins to impinge on his job as a food inspector. He wields great power over small family-owned restaurants; a power he doesn’t hesitate to use.

 For more information about the film Guest of Honour, click here.

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PODCAST | Nicolò Comotti interviews Keren Ben Rafael and Judith Chlema, director and actress of the film The end of love.

Director Keren Ben Rafael and actress Judith Chlema talk about their work together on Keren’s film The End of Love, part of the Biennale College in the 76th edition of the Venice Film Festival.

The end of love: Julie and Yuval live in Paris, are in love and have just had a baby. When Yuval needs to return to Israel to renew his visa, they start sharing their family routine via video call. Watching each other obsessively through a screen, however, begins to take its toll on their relationship. Will their love survive the perils of this new form of interaction?

 For more information about the film The end of love, click here.

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PODCAST | Angelo Acerbi interviews Labina Mitevska, producer of the film God Exists, Her Hame is Petrunija.

Labina Mitevska, producer and also actress in the film of her sister Teona, talk with Angelo Acerbi about the growing success the film is having since last February when it premiered in Berlin. The weirdness of a Macedonian film is pairing with the freshness and boldness the story has, and the impact the lead actress ( a non professional at her first screening experience) added to the film. So the Lux Prize come as a surprising but logical recognition, giving the film a push in the distribution and the diffusion in Europe.

God Exists, Her Hame is Petrunija: Every 19th January during Epiphany, a unique ceremony takes place all around Macedonia: the high priest throws a cross into the local waters while hundreds of men charge for it. The one who finds it is blessed for the whole next year and becomes kind of a local hero. Petrunija is single unemployed 31-year-old woman and a historian who lives with her parents. Returning home from a failed job interview in a sweatshop factory she witnesses the ceremony, decides to jump, swims and catches the cross. Immediately, the men attack her and wrestle the cross out of her hands since as a woman she has no right to participate. A commotion follows and at the moment of heightened confusion Petrunija runs away with the cross. Over the next few hours her jump into the icy water becomes an Internet sensation. Petrunija is taken to a police station, and this is where her ordeal begins: against the local men, against the world, against the system. From a room to a corridor, to a room again, she spends the night being transferred around the impersonal governmental spaces. She insists that she is the winner and refuses to return the cross. One by one, the policemen, the inspector, the priest unsuccessfully try to convince her to give up. Through these 24 hours we discover a society full of stereotypes, with collapsed social and justice system.

 For more information about the Lux Prize, click here.

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PODCAST | Nicolò Comotti interviews Gitanjali Rao, director of the animation film Bombay Rose.

Gitanjali Rao joins us in Venice to talk about her impressive work Bombay Rose, an exquisite animation that took years and years to be completed. It was worth the wait.

Bombay Rose: Amidst the struggle of survival in a big city, a red rose brings together three tales of impossible loves. Love between an unavailable girl and boy. Love between two women. Love of an entire city for its Bollywood stars.

For more information about the film Bombay Rose, click here.

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PODCAST | Chiara Nicoletti interviews actress Julie Andrews. 

The Golden Lion for Lifetime Achievement of the 76th Venice International Film Festival has been awarded to the great English actress Julie Andrews. Right after the ceremony, a fortunate audience could watch Victor Victoria again on the big screen. The actress talks about how modern and actual the film is nowadays and how lucky she was to be able to portray so many strong yet delicate women through her career. When asked about the moment in her life she is the most nostalgic of, the answer of the lady behind Mary Poppins and The Sound of Music is amazingly “the birth of her children”. Julie Andrews, after 50 years, is still a breath of fresh air in the cinema world and not only.

Julie Andrews has been a beloved and much-honored star of stage, screen and television for more than half a century. She was already a Broadway legend when she made her feature film debut in 1964’s Mary Poppins. Andrews’ iconic performance in the title role of the magical nanny brought her an Academy Award, a Golden Globe and a BAFTA Award. The following year, she earned a second Oscar nomination and won another Golden Globe Award for her unforgettable portrayal of Maria Von Trapp in The Sound of Music. She received her third Academy Award nomination and won another Golden Globe Award for her “dual” role in Victor/Victoria. Today’s young film audiences may be more familiar with Andrews as a queen trying to train her teenaged granddaughter to be a princess in the hit films, The Princess Diaries, and its sequel, The Princess Diaries 2: The Royal Engagement. Most recently she gave voice to the aquatic creature Kharaten in the recent blockbuster Aquaman, but is also well known voicing the character of Queen Lillian in Shrek 2, Shrek the Third and Shrek Goes Fourth as well as Gru’s mother in Despicable Me and Minions movies. Ms Andrews was born and raised in England, where she first came to fame at the age of twelve as a young singer with a phenomenal voice performing on stage and on radio. She was still in her teens when she made her way across the Atlantic to Broadway, for her 1953 debut in the musical The Boy Friend. In 1956 she created the role of Eliza Doolittle in Alan Jay Lerner and Frederick Loewe’s Broadway musical My Fair Lady, which became an instant classic. In 1961 Julie originated the role of Queen Guinevere in Lerner and Loewe’s musical Camelot. In 1964 Ms. Andrews was called to Hollywood to play the title role of the magical nanny in Mary Poppins, which earned her an Academy Award. In the same year, Andrews starred opposite James Garner in The Americanization of Emily (1964), for which she was nominated for the BAFTA Award for Best Actress in a Leading Role. A comedy-drama war film set in London during World War II, Andrews has described it as her favourite film, a sentiment shared by her co-star Garner. The following year she portrayed Maria von Trapp in the iconic film The Sound of Music. In 1966, Andrews starred in Hawaii, the second highest-grossing film of its year. Also in 1966, she starred opposite Paul Newman in Torn Curtain, which was directed by Alfred Hitchcock. The following year, she played the title character in Thoroughly Modern Millie (1967), for which she received a Golden Globe nomination. At the time, Thoroughly Modern Millie and Torn Curtain were the biggest and second biggest hits in Universal Pictures history, respectively. Andrews next appeared in Star! (1968), a biopic of Gertrude Lawrence; and Darling Lili (1970), co-starring Rock Hudson and directed by Blake Edwards. Ms Andrews and Mr Edwards were married soon after and for the next 25 years, they made a string of movies that include The Tamarind Seed, 10, S.O.B., That’s Life, and Victor/Victoria. Ms. Andrews has been honoured for her work in television, beginning with her 1957 performance in the title role of Rodgers and Hammerstein’s musical Cinderella, and many years later starring in her own musical variety series, The Julie Andrews Hour. In addition, there were numerous television specials including three with her ‘chum’ Carol Burnett and another with John Denver and Placido Domingo entitled The Sounds of Christmas. Movies made for television include One Special Night with James Garner, Eloise At The Plaza, and Eloise at Christmastime. An accomplished best-selling author (Mandy, The Last Of The Really Great Whangdoodles) Ms. Andrews joined talents with her daughter, Emma Walton Hamilton, in 2003 to create The Julie Andrews Collection. To date they have released over thirty books. Their current franchise of books entitled, The Very Fairy Princess launched as No.1 on the New York Times Children’s Best Seller list and several of their subsequent releases within the franchise earned best seller list status as well. Ms. Andrews’ biography, Home – A Memoir of My Early Years, was released in April 2008 and immediately climbed to No.1 on the New York Times Best Seller list. The second installment of her memoir, Home Work, is scheduled to be released this October and covers Julie’s life from 1963 through the late 1980s. Several other projects created and/or authored by Ms Andrews and her daughter have been or are currently being developed for TV, film and stage. This includes a new television series recently launched worldwide on Netflix entitled Julie’s Greenroom, which the mother/daughter team co-created, wrote and produced with the Jim Henson Company. Concurrently, Ms Andrews has come full circle and is delighting in her work as a director of musicals. Recently she helmed an extraordinary revival of My Fair Lady (the very musical in which Julie starred in the original 1956 Broadway production creating the Eliza Doolittle character) which opened at the Sydney Opera House to rave reviews and breaking all box office records and subsequently toured through Australia to the delight of multi-generational audiences. Earlier in the decade Julie directed a musical adaptation of one of her children’s books (co-authored with Emma) entitled The Great American Musical in addition to two separate stage productions of The Boy Friend (in which Julie starred in the 1953 Broadway production). Julie is dedicated to several charitable causes including Operation USA, which she and her late husband of 41 years (famed writer/director Blake Edwards), helped to found. She is on the board of the Foundation for Hereditary Disease, supports Americans for the Arts and is an enthusiastic board member of the Los Angeles Philharmonic. From 1992 to 2006, Ms Andrews served as Goodwill Ambassador for the United Nations Development Fund for Women (UNIFEM). In the year 2000 Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II bestowed upon her the title Dame Commander of the British Empire. Aside from an Oscar, Ms Andrews has received several Emmys, Golden Globes, a BAFTA and Grammy award, among others. In 2001 she was made a Kennedy Center Honoree and in 2011 was celebrated with the SAG Lifetime Achievement Award. Together, she and Blake raised five children and, much to her delight, ten grandchildren and three great-grandchildren.

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PODCAST | Nicolò Comotti interviews Václav Marhoul, director, producer and writer of the film The Painted Bird.

Václav Marhoul’s epic effort to bring Jerzy Kosinski’s book to the screen is finally ready. The Painted Bird is here in Venezia 76 in the official competition and we had the chance to hear Marhoul’s account on all the events that unravelled before, during, and after the shooting.

The Painted Bird: Based on the acclaimed novel by Jerzy Kosinski, The Painted Bird is a meticulous 35mm black and white evocation of wild, primitive Eastern Europe at the bloody close of World War II. The film follows the journey of the Boy, entrusted by his persecuted parents to an elderly foster mother. The old woman soon dies and the Boy is on his own, wandering through the country-side, from village to farmhouse. As he struggles for survival, the Boy suffers through extraordinary brutality meted out by the superstitious peasants and he witnesses the terrifying violence of the efficient, ruthless soldiers, both Russian and German. When the war ends, the Boy has been changed, forever.

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PODCAST | Nicolò Comotti interviews Tom Vaughan-Lawlor and Tom Glynn-Carney, actors of the film Rialto.

Tom Vaughan-Lawlor and Tom Glynn-Carney are the main interpreters of Rialto, the latest film by Peter Mackie Burns and written by Mark O’Halloran, here in Venezia 76 in the Orizzonti section. Based on the play Trade by the very Mark O’Halloran, Rialto moves away from its origins to convey a drama of loss, crisis and self destruction.

Rialto: Colm is in his mid-forties, married, with two teenage children. Still grieving the death of his father, a destructive figure in his life, Colm struggles with his relationship to his own son, whilst at work a recent takeover threatens his job. Unable to share his vulnerability with his wife, Colm’s world is falling apart around him. In the midst of this crisis, Colm solicits sex from a young man called Jay. This encounter and his growing infatuation has a deep effect on Colm. He finds a comfort in Jay that no one else can provide.

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PODCAST| Cristiana Palmieri interviews Juan Caceres, director of the film Perro Bomba.

In describing the making of his debut film and the experience of working with natural actors, Juan Caceres delves into immigration, social justice and inclusiveness in urban shared spaces.

Perro Bomba: Haitian-born Steevens has built a simple but stable life in Santiago, working hard, gaining his residence permit, and finding some friendship and fun too. The arrival from Haiti of childhood friend Junior throws his delicately balanced life into chaos. Taunted by his boss on the construction site, and egged on by Junior, Steevens gets into a fist-fight which is recorded and goes viral in the media. Steevens is disowned by his community and his friends, and without papers or a home, Steevens wanders Santiago looking for the chance to restore his happiness. Perro Bomba examines the social and personal impacts of rapid immigration and social displacement.

To discover more about the film, click here.

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PODCAST| Cristiana Palmieri interviews Gisselle Gallego, festival programmer of the Sydney Latin American Film Festival.

Gisselle Gallego talks about SLAFF’s aim to showcase independent Latin American cinema and to supports voices in cinema that struggle to be heard. This year the festival focuses on migration and the individuals and communities who are impacted by a wide range of social justice issues.

SLAFF supports and raises awareness for grassroots community development initiatives. It is through our Community Support Program that SLAFF is able to provide financial support to organisations that strive to create positive changes in their communities and address social issues. Since 2006, SLAFF has raised more than $128,000 for 30 worthy organisations through ticket sales.

To discover more about the Festival, click here.

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PODCAST | Angelo Acerbi interviews Billie Piper and Leo Bill, director and actor of the film Rare Beasts. 

Billie Piper and Leo Bill have a funny and compelling chat about the film Rare Beasts, that Piper wrote directed and starred in as a single mother complicated and nihilist. With a strong narrative rhythm, fast paced dialogues and a subtle and disenchanted sense of humour, the film narrates, as Piper says, a dysfunctional love story. And the modern battle between emancipated women and worried and under-prepared men, who suffer and mismanage all relationships.

Rare Beasts: Mandy is a mother, a writer, a nihilist. Mandy is a modern woman in a crisis. Raising a son in the midst of a female revolution, mining the pain of her parents’ separation and professionally writing about a love that no longer exists, she falls upon a troubled man, Pete, who’s searching for a sense of worth, belonging and ‘restored’ Male identity.

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