FRED Film Radio - English Channel

PODCAST| Chiara Nicoletti interviews Eva Espasa, Senior Lecturer at the University of Vic-Central University of Catalonia, Spain.

Starting from her presentation at the ARSAD 2019: “The audio description of blindness in films: visual pleasures or “blind nightmares”?”, Eva Espasa, Senior Lecturer at the University of Vic-Central University of Catalonia, presents her work in collaboration with fellow colleague Montse Corrius, also Senior Lecturer at the University of Vic–Central University of Catalonia. At the 2013 edition of ARSAD, Eva introduced her abstract on the specificity of online training AD students, where she described several activities designed specifically for distance learning. With this particular experience in mind, Eva Espasa elaborates on the genesis of the 2019 research inspired by Georgina Kleefe’s 1999 book Blind Nightmares. Sight Unseen which looks at the stereotypical descriptions of blind characters in films and it extends its view on the different depictions of male and female blind characters.

“The audio description of blindness in films: visual pleasures or “blind nightmares”?”: Visual impairment has been portrayed in films mostly through stereotypical descriptions of blind characters, who not only allow us to analyse their representation in the film but also to provide a more general reflection on blindness, vision and, by extension cinema. Portrayals of diverse types of disability in the cinema are also stereotypical and extreme, showing characters who are either “evil avengers” (Norden, 1994) or “supercrips” (Hartnett, 2000). Current research has addressed the visions of disability and specifically of visual impairment in films. Quantitative studies have given a general account of the attention paid to blindness in films (relatively higher than to other types of disability), and have reported the negative stereotypes of blind or visually impaired characters (e.g. Norden, 1994). Qualitative studies have provided in-depth analyses from cinema, gender and disability perspectives. Some have explored the filmic reasons and social consequences of including blind characters in films. Gender analyses have pointed at the different depictions of male and female blind characters. Feminist film criticism and the notion of visual pleasure (Mulvey, 1975) have been used in Blind Nightmares by Kleege (1999), to denounce the depiction of blind characters in films as other, as objects to be looked at. Georgina Kleege reflects on how, by representing blind women, the cinema continues to present generally stereotyped positions in line with what Mulvey points out about the classic cinema. Moreover, women are still represented as more passive in so far as they depend, to an even greater degree than the sighted ones, on the other’s gaze. In the case of men, their visual impairement usually translates into a feminization and asexualization of the character. What, to our understanding, has been less explored so far is the role played by audio description in the depiction of blindness in films (cf. Thompson, 2018). It is important to see to what extent audiodescription challenges other perspectives. Does it add or 22 challenge stereotypes? To answer this question, this article will analyse visual impairment in a set of films that have been both previously analysed by film or disability studies, and that have been audio described. The analysis incorporates the notions of “visual pleasure” and of “normalism” (Rius, 2011). It intends, finally, to incorporate its findings into the reflection on audio description policies, ethics and practices.

To check out ARSAD complete programme, click here.

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PODCAST| Matt Micucci interviews programmer Laurence Boyce.

An interview with Laurence Boyce, journalist and head of the programme for the live action section of PÖFF Shorts, the short film strand of the A-list festival Black Nights in Talinn, Estonia. Boyce was one of the mentors for the 2019 edition of East Doc Platform in Prague, Czech Republic, so we met him to discuss the world of short film, discussing such topics as the difference between making short films as opposed to feature films, where shorts fit into the context of a film festival and more. As an expert in the field, and the programmer of a short film strand, Boyce watches many short films during the course of the year, so we also ask him whether he has noticed any particular trends in recent ones, in terms of themes and topics.

The post Laurence Boyce #EDP2019 appeared first on Fred Film Radio.

PODCAST| Matt Micucci interviews editor Phil Jandaly.

An interview with editor Phil Jandaly, one of the mentor and guests of the 2019 East Doc Platform. In this interview, Jandely talks about how he got into editing, the challenges of keeping up with the evolving technologies and answers the questions of whether editing is a hard career to get into.

Phil thinks of editing documentaries as being a private detective, digging deep into his clients’ footage in search of narrative and meaning, and making cynical jokes along the way. Working as an editor and consultant out of Sweden, his projects have originated in places as far afield as Serbia, Kenya, France, and Korea, including award-winning international productions like Prison Sisters, Killing Time, and Liberation Day. Running his Storysmith blog, he features interviews with filmmakers and technologists and covers industry events like CPH:DOX, Nordisk Panorama and IDFA. He also runs BedouinViking productions, where he’s been developing his first feature doc Brown Gold.

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PODCAST| Matt Micucci interviews Christy Garland, director of the film What Walaa Wants.

An interview with Christy Garland, director of What Walaa Wants, screened at the 2019 One World International Human Rights Documentary Film Festival in Prague, Czech Republic. The film talks about a young Palestinian girl, Walaa, who decides to join the Palestinian Civil Police Force, and Garland followed her journey for five years. In this interview, the director talks with us about her interest in this particular topic and story, about Walaa’s reaction to her making a film about her, the universal appeal of the story and also some of the challenges that she had to overcome during filming.

What Walaa Wants: For 5 years Christy Garland filmed a young woman who was dealt a bad hand at the start – born in a Palestinian refugee camp, abandoned by her father and with her mother in prison until Walaa was 15. It’s no surprise that she grew up to be a rebel with a complicated relationship with the authorities. Nonetheless, or maybe because of this, she decided to join the Palestinian Civil Police Force. She learned to respect rules, to endure extreme physical hardship and, most importantly, to fight for her ideals. The film not only provides a unique testimony about a unique heroine – a young Palestinian feminist – but also shows how the Palestinian “police academy” functions in all shades of its rigour.

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PODCAST| Matt Micucci interviews Sandra Trostel, director of the documentary All Creatures Welcome.

An interview with director Sandra Trostel, whose film All Creatures Welcome was screened at the 2019 One World Human Rights Documentary Film Festival. The documentary explores a kind of utopian real-world reflection of the internet through the events of the Chaos Computer Club, Europe’s biggest association of hackers. In this interview, Trostel talks about how familiar she was with this world before she worked on her film and how the project impacted her views on it. We also explore some of the filmmaking techniques she creatively applied, such as the use of animation, the narrative structure that recalls adventure videogames and the music. For this last aspect of All Creatures Welcome, we are joined by special guest Thies Mynther, who composed the music for the film, including a conclusive choir piece that is an example of how the project continues even after the documentary is completed. Speaking of which, the documentary is available to watch on public domain. For more info, visit https://sandratrostel.de/projects/acw/.

All Creatures Welcome: Director Sandra Trostel goes on a trip – in a cartoon rocket, a time machine from Doctor Who, and other playful means. With different forms and positions, she initiates creative interaction with the events, individuals and thoughts that characterize the events organized by CCC. In an interactive game, she completes seven “levels”, each representing a certain degree of insight into the free-thinking hacker philosophy – from focus placed on diversity, tolerance and curiosity to more serious ideas about the positive as well as the negative roles technology plays in today’s world.

The post Sandra Trostel – All Creatures Welcome #jedensvet2019 appeared first on Fred Film Radio.

PODCAST| Matt Micucci interviews Kalina Bertin, director of the documentary Manic VR.

Director Kalina Bertin presented her VR documentary Manic VR at the One World Interactive strand of the 2019 One World International Human Rights Documentary Film Festival in Prague, Czech Republic. This VR project documentary deals with the theme of bipolar disorder and in this interview, Bertin tells us about the evolution of the project as well as the real-life, personal origins that inspired it. She also talks about what interested her about VR and the challenges she overcame in making the transition from “traditional” documentary filmmaking to VR, and more.

Manic VR: For 3 years Kalina Bertin recorded the voices of her siblings who have bipolar disorder. The audiotapes on which the 2 confide their lyrical hallucinations as well as their painful anxieties became the basis for a virtual reality project. In it, the participants walk through the symbolic rooms in the two siblings’ minds, where galactic nebulae materialise, where they enter a rain forest with flying knives or a dim, compressed cell. Using immersive experience, the project draws attention to the complexity of the world and the fragility of the lives of people for whom their own minds have become both a magical labyrinth and a demonic cave.

The post Kalina Bertin – Manic VR #jedensvet2019 appeared first on Fred Film Radio.

PODCAST| Matt Micucci interviews Ondrej Salek, director of the documentary Good News.

Director Ondrej Sálek talks with FRED about his short documentary Good News, presented at the 2019 One World Film Festival in Prague, Czech Republic, in which he documents Petr Cerny, a key figure of alternative media of his country. In this interview, he talks about the genesis of his film and how Cerny when he approached him, but also shares with us his views on such relevant topics as the disruption caused by the internet in the spreading of information and where cinema fits in, in a world marked by the advancement of new technologies.

Good News: He thinks people should help each other, even giving shelter to a stranger caught in the debt trap, but Petr Cerny doesn’t believe in housing refugees and sees their arrival as part of a plan to destroy Europe. Director Ondrej Sálek take a look at the personal life of one of the key players on the Czech disinformation scene. This film is not a non-participatory probe. Sálek argues with Cerny and his friends, but also tries to understand the overall complex nature of his protagonist – a person in whom a fear of refugees and faith in conspiracy theories is mixed with a tendency towards the spiritual and a certain type of inner kindness.

To discover the film trailer, click here.

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PODCAST| Sarah Bradbury interviews Duccio Chiarini, director of the film The Guest.

Italian director Duccio Chiarini speaks with us from the Cinema Made in Italy festival in London about his second feature film The Guest. He told us how events in his own life influenced the late coming-of-age story, how the film plays with comedy, drama and tragedy and also forms a vehicle for him to explore the challenges of forming lasting relationships in the modern era.

The Guest: “Wryly funny, nicely observed comedy of manners about a man who becomes the unwelcome lodger of a succession of family and friends” – Adrian Wootton, curator of Cinema Made in Italy, CEO of Film London and the British Film Commission. After getting a Special Mention at the 2014 Venice Film Festival for his debut film Short Skin, Duccio Chiarini returns with a promising dramedy, The Guest. Guido is a 38 years old academic forever preparing a book on Italo Calvino and forced to move out of his comfort zone when his girlfriend shares her doubts about the future of their relationship. Unable to be alone, he navigates from one sofa to the next and witnesses the everyday lives of his relatives and friends and their various romantic entanglements, desperately seeking the roots for new beginnings.

To discover more about the film, click here.

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PODCAST| Sarah Bradbury interviews Valeria Golino, director of the film Euphoria.

Long-time actress and second-time director Valeria Golino talks about her film Euphoria from the Cinema Made in Italy event in London. She explains how events in the life of a friend inspired the story, her desire to make an aesthetically beautiful film that had both moments of humour and sadness, and how her film resists judgment of its complex and contradictory characters.

Euphoria: “Valeria Golino’s second film as a director is an accomplished moving modern tale of the love- hate-love relationship of two very different brothers” – Adrian Wootton, curator of Cinema Made in Italy, CEO of Film London and the British Film Commission. Valeria Golino’s second feature film tells the story of Matteo and Ettore, two brothers who seem to have nothing in common. Matteo is a shining charismatic businessman who has made it to the big city when Ettore is a teacher who seems comfortable to be sticking to the shadows in their provincial home town. A dramatic event causes them to live together for a few months and they soon realise that they share more than what they think in a climax of fear and euphoria.

To discover more about the film, click here.

The post Valeria Golino – Euphoria #CinemaMadeinItaly2019 appeared first on Fred Film Radio.

PODCAST| Bénédicte Prot interviews André Téchiné, director of the film Farewell to the Night.

A wonderful talk with André Téchiné to discuss this film tackling a serious and, sadly, very current subject, based on a series of interviews of real jihadists, which represented quite a new artistic approach for him, the great French filmmaker points out. The 75-year-old director tells us more about what interests him in the transitional age right between childhood and adulhood, and about the character of Alex specifically. He also explains why he is keen on collaborating time and again with the same actors, though in completely different roles, and describes his special work relationship with Catherine Deneuve as well as her character in the film, as it is Muriel’s helplessness the viewer identifies with the most.

Farewell to the Night :André Téchiné’s new film recounts young aspiring jihadist Alex’ (Kacey Mottet Klein) last Spring days at his grandmother Muriel’s (Catherine Deneuve) house, surrounded by a bucolic, sun-bathed countryside, before he goes to Syria with his girlfriend Lila (Oulaya Amamra).

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