FRED Film Radio - English Channel

PODCAST | Angelo Acerbi interviews Riley Stearns, director of the film The Art of Self Defence.

Riley Stearns gives us an outstanding film, with Jesse Eisenberg and Alessandro Nivola in a state of grace. He tells us what interested him when he was writing the film and his ideas on shooting and framing a story for the big screen.

The Art of Self Defence: A dark comedy set in the world of karate. The film centers on Casey (Jesse Eisenberg), who is attacked at random on the street and enlists in a local dojo led by a charismatic and mysterious Sensei (Alessandro Nivola), in an effort to learn how to defend himself. What he uncovers is a sinister world of fraternity, violence and hypermasculinity and a woman (Imogen Poots) fighting for her place in it. Casey undertakes a journey, both frightening and darkly funny, that will place him squarely in the sights of his enigmatic new mentor.

The post Riley Stearns – The Art of Self Defence #SIFF2019 appeared first on Fred Film Radio.

PODCAST | Matt Micucci interviews Jacqueline Zünd, director of the film Where We Belong.

Director Jacqueline Zünd presented her latest documentary, Where We Belong, at the 2019 Transilvania International Film Festival. The documentary is seen from the point of view of kids and talks about the seperation of their parents. Zünd talks about the importance of treating the children who are the protagonists of her movie with respect and how the topic of children and the separation of their parents is talked about in media. She also talks about the personal motives that inspired Where We Belong, and how a film can contributed to the discourse regarding the themes, topics and issues that it discusses.

Where We Belong: Parents split up, a family falls apart. Two separate worlds emerge from what once was considered a unity. In constant transition, children now live between two homes. This film approaches their reality and focuses on how brave, smart and funny children perceive their situation.

The post Jacqueline Zünd – Where We Belong #TIFF18 appeared first on Fred Film Radio.

PODCAST | Sarah Bradbury interviews Sebastián Lelio, director of the film Gloria Bell.

We sit down with Academy-award winning Chilean writer-director Sebastián Lelio ahead of the release of Gloria Bell to find out how an English language cover version of his 2013 film Gloria came about with the fabulous Julianne Moore in the title role. He talks us through the process of revisiting his material with Moore, whose spell-binding performance the film rests on, how the other films he made in the interim, A Fantastic Woman and Disobedience, influenced his filmmaking style and the timeliness of the release of his remake.

Gloria Bell: Gloria Bell follows the everyday life of a middle-aged divorcee (Julianne Moore) living alone in LA who works in insurance, smokes, is kept on the outside of the lives of her grown-up children but finds her release in going out to dance. She starts a love affair with a man she meets in a club, Arnold (John Turturro), which opens her up to new experiences and sets her on a path of self-discovery. Julianne Moore is astonishing in her nuanced portrayal of Gloria in this remake of Sebastián Lelio’s 2013 original which is full of counteracting moments of precision and ambiguity, tragedy and humour. In exploring themes of freedom, sexuality, aging, feminity, the absurdity and beauty in the everyday, the film’s meandering narrative rarely provides straight answers but rather holds an overarching sentiment that in the face of life’s challenges, it’s best to keep on dancing.

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The post Sebastián Lelio – Gloria Bell appeared first on Fred Film Radio.

PODCAST | Nicolò Comotti interviews director Michel Reilhac.

Michel is a narrative architect and long-time transmedia and immersive media pioneer. Michel Reilhac is known as a leading international expertforinnovation in hybrid storytelling across participatory, interactive and immersive experiences. As the Head of Studies at the Venice Biennale College, the VR competition curator for the Venice Biennale International Film Festival since its inaugural competition in 2017, Michel is regularly invited to speak and teach at major international events, including the Cannes International Film Festival, SXSW, Tribeca Film Festival, TEDx, CPH:DOX, Dixit, Power to the Pixel, Sunny Side of the Doc, FEMIS and many more. As a speaker and educator, Michel is renowned for his comprehensive and critical understanding of the immersive media landscape, as well as for his focus on innovation in the creative development and application of narratives – not only in film and television, but in broader media and communication contexts, where new storytelling practices are disrupting conventional models. In his teaching, Michel focuses in particular on enabling filmmakers to find a platform for fresh and daring stories that deserve an audience. He strives to allow artists to appropriate XR as a new art form and focuses on immersive storytelling as an artistic medium. Michel is currently developing an international residency on the island of Lamu, Kenya. This residency seeks to foster innovative work by creators and small teams from across East Africa, and lay the foundations for a VR hub that celebrates Swahili culture. From 2002-2012, Michel was Head of Cinema & Film Acquisitions at Arte France and Executive Director of Arte France Cinema, co-producing around 30 international independent feature films each year, including Lars Von Trier’s Antichrist and Melancholia. In 2013, Michel was named Man of the Year 2012 in Film by industry magazine Le Film Français. Michel is also a virtual reality filmmaker himself – his first production Viens! premiered at Sundance in 2016. In 2017-2018 Michelwas Head of the award-winning independent production company Submarine Channel in Amsterdam. Currently, he also curates the immersive content programme at Series Mania in Lille, France.

This interview was recorded during the Cartoon Digital Festival 2019, in partnership with the Sardinia Film Commission, thanks to the Italian Film Commissions Association and with the support of the Italian Trade Agency. 

The post Cartoon Digital faces: Michel Reilhac #CartoonDigital appeared first on Fred Film Radio.

PODCAST | Cristiana Palmieri interviews Nashen Moodley, festival director of the Sydney Film Festival.

Festival director Nashen Moodley inspires us pointing out that this year’s program “holds a mirror to titanic shifts culturally and politically, with films that will challenge and excite us. Shining a light on subjects that are often little explored or seen, these films are an invitation for us to collectively reflect on who we are, and what may lay ahead.”

Nashen talks about this year’s program that “celebrates a resurgent year of Australian cinema, with an exceptional selection of contemporary Australian stories including 23 World Premieres, with great Australian storytellers join globally renowned filmmakers to share crucial perspectives on our world.” The festival also strongly supports “talented women filmmakers, in an industry still struggling with equality. With the Europe! Voices of Women in Film strand, and retrospective programs celebrating pioneering women including our tribute to the late Agnès Varda, the Festival this year has signed the 5050×2020 pledge, committing to working towards gender parity and inclusion in film festivals.”

To discover more about the festival, click here.

The post Nashen Moodley #SFF2019 appeared first on Fred Film Radio.

PODCAST | Sarah Bradbury interviews Claire Binns, festival programmer of the 2019 Sundance London.

Ahead of this year’s Sundance London Claire Binns, festival programmer, talks us through bringing the best of Utah’s film selection to central London at the Picturehouse cinema, this year’s theme of risk and highlights of the programme plus the work Sundance does to nurture new filmmakers and promote diversity, centering around the hashtag #whatnext.

Sundance Institute and Picturehouse will present a programme of feature films, short films and panel discussions for the Sundance Film Festival: London 2019, taking place 30 May – 2 June at Picturehouse Central. The festival will present 12 feature films from this year’s Sundance Film Festival in Park City, Utah, U.S.A., selected for London by the Sundance Institute programming team in collaboration with Picturehouse. The festival will open with the UK gala of Late Night (Nisha Ganatra), written by and starring Mindy Kaling alongside Emma Thompson. The festival will close four days later with the UK premiere of Penny Lane’s Hail Satan?. In 2018, the London festival asked “#WhatNext?” in response to ongoing inequality in the film industry and presented a line-up of films brimming with female-driven stories. By continuing to champion underrepresented voices and empower brave artists, this year’s Sundance London will showcase innovative cinema and encourage filmmakers, audiences and the wider British film community to embrace everything that the provocation ‘Risk Independence’ entails. The festival honours its commitment to gender parity by featuring an equal number of male and female directors in this year’s feature film selection, allowing a range of British, Australian and American filmmakers to tell their authentic stories. Alongside the opening and closing night films, the festival will present a selection of fearless filmmaking: The Nightingale, a striking revenge drama starring Aisling Franciosi and Sam Claflin, marks Jennifer Kent’s anticipated follow-up to her critically acclaimed debut, The Babadook; Time Out gala film, Animals (dir. Sophie Hyde, whose debut 52 Tuesdays won the Directing Award: World Cinema Dramatic at Sundance 2014 and features in this year’s repertory strand) is an unpredictable tale of female friendship starring Holliday Grainger and Alia Shawkat; and Bart Freundlich’s After the Wedding, a female-driven reimagining of Susanne Bier’s Academy Award-nominated Danish film, features Julianne Moore and Michelle Williams in leading roles. In addition, breakout American star Awkwafina (Crazy Rich Asians; Ocean’s 8) stars in Lulu Wang’s The Farewell, and Daniel Scheinert, co-winner of the U.S. Dramatic Directing Award at the 2016 Sundance Film Festival for Swiss Army Man, directs The Death of Dick Long. As in previous years, the London edition will support British talent with the return of local filmmaker Shola Amoo (A Moving Image), whose short film Dear Mr. Shakespeare played at the 2017 festival. Amoo’s latest feature, The Last Tree, an unconventional coming-of-age story of a British-Nigerian youth, will receive its European premiere over the festival weekend. In addition, British writer Sam Bain (Peep Show, Four Lions) writes Corporate Animals, directed by Patrick Brice (Creep) and starring Demi Moore and Ed Helms. Together with closing night film Hail Satan?, the festival’s documentary features share equally bold and daring perspectives: The Brink, directed by Alison Klayman (Ai Weiwei: Never Sorry, winner Special Jury Prize – Documentary at the 2012 Sundance Film Festival) follows former White House Chief Strategist Steve Bannon as he expands his far-right campaigning from the United States across the globe, and Ask Dr. Ruth, directed by Ryan White (The Case Against 8, winner of the U.S. Documentary Directing Award at the 2014 Sundance Film Festival and part of the Sundance London 2014 programme), is a portrait of one of America’s most famous sex therapists. Completing the line-up is Apollo 11, directed by Todd Douglas Miller and winner of the U.S. Documentary Special Jury Award for Editing at this year’s festival in Utah, a never-seen-before immersive portrayal of the 1969 moon landings. Alongside the inspiring film selection, the festival will also highlight the work of industry pioneers with a series of panel discussions, Q&As and special guest appearances. As well as providing audiences invaluable insight into the filmmaking process, this year’s special events programme will focus on breaking boundaries and defying expectations, as our speakers discuss what risk-taking means to them. The 2019 festival continues the Sundance tradition of supporting original work from both emerging and established independent filmmakers through two short film programmes, including a branch dedicated to UK productions. In an exclusive repertory strand, “Triple Threat”, the festival will present three films from the Sundance archive. Complementing the number of complex, contradictory and compelling female characters who appear in the festival’s feature selection are renowned titles from previous Sundance Film Festivals: 52 Tuesdays (2013), Sophie Hyde’s debut feature in which a young woman complicatedly comes of age against the backdrop of her mother’s gender transition; David Michôd’s iconic Australian crime thriller Animal Kingdom (2010), featuring Jacki Weaver as the ruthless matriarch of a crime family ready to go to any lengths to protect her empire; and Lee Daniels’ Oscar-winning debut Precious (2009), starring Gabourey Sidibe as a young woman seemingly trapped by her surroundings who discovers a way out of a life of poverty and abuse on her own terms. Festivalgoers will have a special chance to catch an unannounced title with the festival’s third Surprise Film – last year’s choice was Bart Layton’s American Animals. Following popular wins for Bo Burnham’s critically acclaimed Eighth Grade and the Academy Award-winning Icarus, audiences will again have the opportunity to cast votes after screenings, with the Audience Favourite award being announced at the close of the festival.

To discover more about the festival, click here.

The post Claire Binns #SundanceLondon appeared first on Fred Film Radio.

PODCAST | Chiara Nicoletti interviews Babak Anvari, director of the film Wounds.

After Sundance Film Festival, Babak Anvari lands at the Quinzaine des Réalisateurs of the 72nd Festival di Cannes with his second feature film, Wounds, after the success he had with his debut feature, Under the Shadow which was UK selection for the Foreign Language Academy Award in 2017. Anvari who consider himself a nerd, declares that the choice of the horror genre is terapeutic for him to try and transpose all his personal fears and demons into a film so to exorcise them in a way. The director talks highly about his protagonist, Armie Hammer who’s a film enthusiast and never afraid of a challenge. Wounds is based on the on the novella The visible filth by Nathan Ballingrud that Anvari adapted for the big screen.

Wounds: Will is a bartender in New Orleans. He has a great job, great friends, and a girlfriend, Carrie, who loves him. He skates across life’s surface, ignoring complications and concentrating on enjoying the moment. One night at the bar, a violent brawl breaks out, which injures one of his regular customers and causes some college kids to leave behind a cell phone in their haste. Will begins receiving disturbing texts and calls from the stranger’s phone. While Will hopes to not get involved, Carrie gets lost down a rabbit hole investigating this strange malevolence. They’ve discovered something unspeakable, and it’s crawling slowly into the light.

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The post Babak Anvari – Wounds #Cannes2019 appeared first on Fred Film Radio.

PODCAST | Chiara Nicoletti interviews Fionn Whitehead, director of the film Port Authority.

After Dunkirk and Black Mirror: Bandersnatch, Port Authority by Danielle Lessovitz, screening at the 72nd Festival de Cannes in the Un Certain Regard section is Fionn Whitehead’s first romantic film. The actor unveils how he got on board of the film project and how he and danielle Lessovitz found each other as they were destined to cross path. Fionn Whitehead also reveals what kind of experience Port Authority was for him and how much he learned from this film’s journey.

Port Authority: On the steps outside New York City’s dizzying central bus station, Port Authority, a girl named Wye vogues with her siblings. Paul, a young drifter, watches her, transfixed by her beauty. After he seeks her out, an intense love soon blossoms. Wye introduces him to the ballroom community, an underground LGBTQ subculture, and to her house, a self- selected chosen family. But when Paul realizes Wye is trans, he is forced to confront his feelings for her and the social forces that seek to rupture their bond.

The post Fionn Whitehead – Port Authority #Cannes2019 appeared first on Fred Film Radio.

PODCAST| Chiara Nicoletti interviews Midi Z, director of the film Nina Wu.

Midi Z’s first genre film, Nina Wu is the adaptation of actress Wu Ke-xi’s script which is a mix between a #Metoo manifesto and a thriller-horror story about an actress going mad. Screening at the 72nd Festival de Cannes in the Un Certain Regard section, the film has attracted Quentin Tarantino’s attention so that the director, in competition at the Festival with Once upon a time in….Hollywood, has attended the premiere screening of Nina Wu. Midi Z tells us about his first thoughts about the script, the difficulties he encountered in trying to finance a genre film and the collaboration with Wu Ke-xi.

Nina Wu: After eight years toiling in bit-parts, aspiring actress Nina Wu finally gets her big break with a leading role in a spy thriller set in the 1960s. The part is challenging, not least because it calls for full nudity and explicit sex scenes, and the film’s director is often hard on her. But both the industry and the press are confident that the results are sensationally good. On the brink of triumph, though, Nina’s psychological resolve begins to crack. She rushes back to her family home to deal with two crises: her father’s business has gone bankrupt and her mother has suffered a heart attack. She dreams of rekindling a close relationship with her childhood friend Kiki but is haunted by paranoid fantasies that a mysterious woman is stalking and attacking her. As Nina clings to memories of happier times, it seems that there is one crucial memory that she is repressing…

To discover more about the film, click here.

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PODCAST | Bénédicte Prot interviews Nicolas Bedos, director of the film La Belle Epoque.

The actor, comedian and playwright Nicolas Bedos tells us more about his second feature film as a director after Mr. and Mrs. Adelman, this time only behind the camera.

La Belle Epoque: Victor, sixtysomething, has his life turned upside down the day that Antoine, a flourishing entrepreneur, offers him a unique new brand of entertainment. Using a combination of theatrical artifice and historical re-enactment, his company gives its clients the opportunity to delve back into the period of their choice. Victor decides to relive the most memorable week of his existence, 40 years earlier, when he met the love of his life.

The post Nicolas Bedos – La Belle Epoque #Cannes2019 appeared first on Fred Film Radio.