FRED Film Radio - English Channel

PODCAST| Matt Micucci interviews Alexander Kluge, director of the film Happy Lamento.

Alexander Kluge, a director with a long and illustrious history at the Venice Film Festival, returns to the Lido with his new film, Happy Lamento, featuring the filmmaker Khavn De La Cruz. In this interview he reveals that as a filmmaker – one of the filmmakers who signed the famed Oberhausen Manifesto – he has never stopped experimenting with the art form and reveling in the opportunities that technological developments allow.

Happy Lamento: At heart, the film concerns electric light, the circus, the song Blue Moon, and street wars among children’s gangs in North Manila, a wilderness otherwise inaccessible to Western eyes. We see how the circus comes to town with the appearance of President Trump at the G-20 summit in Hamburg in 2017; we see how the street wars of the children in Manila run on for years; Helge Schneider appears as a “human light snake” as in Edison’s Annabelle: Serpentine Dance, from 1895; my friend, the dramatist Heiner Muller, philisophizes about the moon; we hear a musical requiem for commodities that lie unpurchased on a Saturday; we see the dramatic evacuation of a circus in Russia that tries to save its elephants in the early morning stands in contrast to a world that is increasingly savage; the poet Ann Cotten appears in the role of King Kong, the cinematic hero that defends what he loves to death. The images that one sees in this sequence are filmed through glass panels made by artist Kerstin Braetsch in New York.

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PODCAST| Matt Micucci interviews Sameh Zoabi, director of the film Tel Aviv on Fire.

Filmmaker Sameh Zoabi premiered his new film Tel Aviv On Fire in the Orizzonti section of the 75th Venice Film Festival. The film revolves around the production of an imagined produced in Ramallah, and the misadventures of an intern-turned-writer on the show. Zoabi talks with us about the power of the soap operas especially within this social and political context – that of the Israel and Palestine conflict, as well as the sense of humor of the film and more.

Tel Aviv on Fire: Salam, a charming 30-year-old Palestinian living in Jerusalem, works as an intern on the popular Palestinian soap opera Tel Aviv on Fire, produced in Ramallah. Every day Salam must pass through an arduous Israeli checkpoint to reach the television studios. He meets the commander of the check point, Assi, whose wife is a huge fan of the show. In order to impress her, Assi gets involved in the writing of the show. Salam soon realises that Assi’s ideas could get him a promotion as a screenwriter. His creative career catches fire, until Assi and the show’s financial backers disagree on how the soap opera should end. Squeezed between an Army officer and the Arab backers, Salam can only solve his problems with a final master stroke.

To know more about the film, click here.

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PODCAST| Matt Micucci interviews Mary Harron, director of the film Charlie Says.

Director Mary Harron premiered in Venice her new film, Charlie Says, featured in the Orizzonti section of the 75th Venice Film Festival. The film is inspired by the true story of a real life American psycho – Charles Manson. In particular, it focuses on the women that who were part of his cult. Harron talks with us about this take on the infamous story, about Manson himself, her collaboration with screenwriter Guinevere Turner, and more.

Charlie Says: A look at real life American psycho Charles Manson with an examination of the infamous Manson Family murders through the eyes of graduate student Karlene Faith as she works with three young, brainwashed women who were part of the cult. Initially given the death penalty for their involvement in the crimes, during which nine people were murdered including actress Sharon Tate, their sentences were ultimately commuted to life imprisonment. The film is a procedural that will focus on Faith’s time attempting to teach the three women, and on their personal transformations as they slowly grasp the reality of their crimes.

To know more about the film, click here.

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PODCAST| Matt Micucci interviews Hajooj Kuka, director of the film The Roundup (aKasha).

Director Hajooj Kuka premiered his film The Roundup (aKasha) at the 75th Venice Film Festival in the International Critics Week. A fascinating story seldom seen on international cinema screens, Kuka mentions that his film depicts a scene not known in the big cities of his country. In this interview, he also talks about some of the behind the scenes stories of the making of the movie, and the ways in which he handled the changes that were imposed by some of his and his team’s misadventures.

The Roundup (aKasha): Adnan is a Sudanese revolutionary who is considered a war hero. His love for his AK47 rifle is equalled only by his feelings for Lina, his long-suffering sweetheart. When Adnan is late to return to his military unit after his leave, army commander Blues launches a kasha: the rounding up and arresting of truant soldiers. Adnan is caught-off guard and makes a run for it with his friend Absi. The two unlikely friends plot ways to reunite Adnan with his gun – and with Lina – while avoiding their fellow soldiers. Through a series of wry and humorous incidents over 24 hours, we explore life and ideology in rebel-held areas of Sudan.

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PODCAST| Nicolò Comotti interviews Maxine Peake, actress of the film Peterloo.

Maxine Peake stops by our radiocall studio in Venice to talk about her interpretation in Mike Leigh’s Peterloo, in competition here in Venice for the 75th Golden Lion.

Peterloo: An epic portrayal of the events surrounding the infamous 1819 Peterloo Massacre, where a peaceful pro-democracy rally at St Peter’s Field in Manchester turned into one of the bloodiest and most notorious episodes in British history. The massacre saw British government forces charge into a crowd of over 60,000 that had gathered to demand political reforms and protest against rising levels of poverty. Many protestors were killed and hundreds more injured, sparking a nationwide outcry but also further government suppression. The Peterloo Massacre was a defining moment in British democracy which also played a significant role in the founding of The Guardian newspaper.

To know more about the film, click here.

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PODCAST| Nicolò Comotti interviews Mike Leigh, director of the film Peterloo.

Mike Leigh is here in Venice to present his latest film Peterloo, in Venice 75’s official competition. It turned out to be a chance for us to hear his view on filmmaking and how the presence of certain, simple things can easily make you a director.

Peterloo: An epic portrayal of the events surrounding the infamous 1819 Peterloo Massacre, where a peaceful pro-democracy rally at St Peter’s Field in Manchester turned into one of the bloodiest and most notorious episodes in British history. The massacre saw British government forces charge into a crowd of over 60,000 that had gathered to demand political reforms and protest against rising levels of poverty. Many protestors were killed and hundreds more injured, sparking a nationwide outcry but also further government suppression. The Peterloo Massacre was a defining moment in British democracy which also played a significant role in the founding of The Guardian newspaper.

To know more about the film, click here.

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PODCAST| Nicolò Comotti interviews Victor Kossakovsky, director of the film Aquarela.

Victor Kossakovsky has the chance to dissect his latest work, Aquarela, for the pleasure of our cinefile audience. A production that proved to be as beautiful as it was dangerous to shoot, Aquarela is a work that combines technology with an old-fashioned, romanticist take on filmmaking.

Aquarela takes audiences on a deeply cinematic journey through the transformative beauty and raw power of water. Filmed at 96 frames-persecond, the film is a visceral wake-up call that humans are no match for the sheer force and capricious will of Earth’s most precious element. From the precarious frozen waters of Russia’s Lake Baikal to Miami in the throes of Hurricane Irma to Venezuela’s mighty Angel Falls, water is Aquarela’s main character, with director Victor Kossakovsky capturing her many personalities in startling visual detail.

To know more about the film, click here.

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PODCAST| Nicolò Comotti interviews Mahmut Fazil Goskun, director of the film Anons.

Mahmut Fazil Goskun talks to FRED about his latest feature, Anons, here in Venice for the Orizzonti official selection.

Anons: May 22nd, 1963. Unhappy with the existing social and political situation in Turkey, a group of military officers has planned a coup d’etat to take down the government in Ankara. Meanwhile in Istanbul, their co-conspirators have undertaken the vital mission of taking over the National Radio station and making a formal announcement about the coup. But nothing goes to plan. Faced with a number of obstacles, including a sudden rainstorm, the absence of the radio station technician, a betrayal, the lack of feedback from Ankara and their own inefficiency, the conspirators scramble to keep their plan on track and announce the success of the coup – that is, if the coup in the capital has taken place at all. Based on actual events and told over the course of a single night, Anons is a wry commentary on Turkey’s uneasy political past – and present. Biting political satire meets subtle comedy in a film that highlights the absurdity of its story without ever being anything less than dead serious.

To know more about the film, click here.

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PODCAST| David Martos interviews David Oelhoffen, Matthias Schoenaerts and Reda Kateb, director and actors of the film Frères Ennemis.

The cast of the film Frères Ennemis talks to FRED about the film presented in competition at the 75th Venice International Film Festival. In the interview we rise the topic of choices in life, given that the two main characters come from the very same background… but end up being in opposite sides of life: cop and drug dealer.

Frères Ennemis: Born and raised in a suburb ridden by drug trafficking, Driss and Manuel were like brothers. As adults, they have gone down exactly the opposite path: Manuel chose to embrace this thug life, while Driss completely rejected it and became a cop. When Manuel’s biggest deal goes terribly wrong, the two men meet again and come to realize they both need each other to survive in their worlds. Between betrayals and resentments, and despite their hatred, they renew deep ties around the one thing they have left in common: their visceral commitment to the place of their childhood.

For the page of the film on the Festival website, click here.

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PODCAST| Nicolò Comotti interviews Mikhael Hers, Isaure Multrier, Vincent Lacoste and Stacy Martin, director and actors of the film Amanda.

Mikhael Hers stops by our Venice Radio Call to talk about his latest film, Amanda, in the Orrizonti section. The main cast – Vincent Lacoste, Isaure Multrier and Stacy Martin was also present.

Amanda: David, who gets by doing odd jobs, meets Lena, who has just moved up to Paris, and falls in love. But soon after, his life is brutally interrupted by the sudden death of his sister. Beyond the shock, and the pain, David now finds himself alone with his young niece Amanda to care for.

To know more about the film, click here.

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