FRED Film Radio - English Channel

PODCAST| Angelo Acerbi interviews Anucha Boonyawatana, director of the film Malila: The Farewell Flower.

Anucha Boonyawatana has a delicate voice, as his film is. The love story he narrates develops at a slow and mesmerising pace. The art of Bai Sri is so complex and fascinating but tragic in its own way, as the love between the two characters will be. We will discover traditions of meditation and some unexpected harsh ones, as Anucha tells us.

Malila: The Farewell Flower: Bai Sri are elaborately-folded flower arrangements, made with banana leaves and jasmine blossoms, symbolizing love and virtue in Thai Buddhist philosophy. Though visually stunning, they tend to wither very fast. Pitch and Shane, who once were lovers, know this only too well. After being separated for many years, they revive their relationship by making these floral ornaments together. While Shane is still recovering from the end of his marriage and the death of his daughter, Pitch is struggling with his own tragedy: he has just discovered he is terminally ill. To escape from the pain they are both suffering, they decide to return to the times they were together, a past that has never seemed so far off: past and present alternate like a hallucination. But when Shane finds out that Pitch is dying, he decides to become a Thai monk for life. A movie with an elegiac and melancholy tone, poised between existential pain and the contemplation of that pain.

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PODCAST| Angelo Acerbi interviews Dennis Cooper and Zac Farley, directors of the film Permanent Green Light.

Dennis Cooper and Zac Farley unite their creativity on a project that stays in the realm of Cooper’s tradition but takes a step back from the queer side of it to show the infinite discomfort teenagers suffer and the lack of answers to their needs. Inspired by real events that happened to an Australian teen, Dennis Cooper and Zac Farley tell us about the philosophy of Permanent Green Light’s  narrative and the experience of working on a super-tight budget in a short time with non-actors kids, building up a team for a common goal.

Permanent Green Light: Roman is a teenager who is planning to blow himself up in public. He has no terrorist aims: this act will be his last and shocking attempt to escape from the empty life that awaits him in the future and to overcome the depression that grips him. He is surrounded by alienating suburbs, where apathetic young people are apparently detached from reality. With them he creates a group aimed at self-detonation. The acclaimed (and controversial) American writer Dennis Cooper, together with video artist Zac Farley (with whom he had previously worked on the feature film Little Cattle Towards Glory), brings to the big screen the disturbed and disturbing universe which is a feature of his books. The starting point of the film is a real event: the accidental death of an Australian teenager who declared himself a jihadist and blew himself up in a failed terrorist attack. Cooper and Farley turn this little-known, tragic anecdote into a contemporary parable, where a spectacular and deliberately chosen death seems to be the only way to fill the void of a purposeless life.

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PODCAST| Angelo Acerbi interviews Bruce Hensel, executive producer, co–director and producer of the film Beyond the Opposite Sex.

Bruce Hensel tells us about the work he did with the director Emily Apt to give us an update in the lives of the heroes of their previous documentary. A documentary sequel is not that usual but here Bruce explains why it was needed and how the collaboration from the two main characters and their family made it possible. Even if the ending of this storytelling was not predictable and foreseen.

Beyond the Opposite Sex: In 2004 the documentary The Opposite Sex was released and was the story of the process of transition which Renie and Jamie were preparing to face. Renie, a butch woman who loves sport and rodeos, is preparing to become a man; Jamie, an aspiring country singer, wants to become a woman. It was a long road of barriers, made even more arduous and painful by ostracism and by the lack of tolerance in people around them. This has scarred the two main characters’ lives in a deep and permanent way. Fourteen years later, how have their lives changed? Did they achieve their goal, the goal of happiness and acceptance, which they had set themselves and had tenaciously pursued for such a long time? These are questions that lead us to wider doubts and that involve everyone. One in particular is: in the end has the time come to allow everybody who wishes to follow the same path? Because as Jamie states, “Transition is what we undergo, not what we are.”

The post Bruce Hensel – Beyond the Opposite Sex #LFF18 appeared first on Fred Film Radio.

PODCAST| Angelo Acerbi interviews Nils-Erik Ekblom, director of the film Pihalla (Screwed).

In his first feature film Pihalla (Screwed), director Nils-Erik Ekblom explores the process of coming out for Miku, a teenager who, during a vacation in a cabin on the lake with his dysfunctional but sweet family, discovers his true nature and first love. The director reveals his intentions and talks about the differences of his film from all the other coming out stories, where fun and smiles prevail and a relaxed attitude for life always wins. It seems the Finnish know all about living lightly…

Pihalla (Screwed): A summer of punishment awaits Miku, a shy and awkward boy of 17: his parents force him to go on holiday with them to the countryside as a punishment for having organized a house-party which ended with vandalism. The atmosphere in the cottage is certainly not happy and carefree: the imminent break-up of his parents’ marriage is another contributing factor. But there is also Miku’s growing sense of a dissatisfaction and unhappiness that he cannot define and is not brave enough to face. Miku meets Elias, who has a complex family background too and apparently it seems to be the only thing they have in common. Then Elias becomes the trigger for impulses and feelings that he has hidden for too long. Now it is too late to repress them. At first Elias is interested in Miku but then he seems to distance himself. So Miku must finally take back control of his life.

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PODCAST| Samantha Sartori interviews Norah Shapiro and Ilhan Omar, director and protagonist of the film Time for Ilhan, at the Tribeca Film Festival 2018.

Film festivals have lately been taking on activist issues of gender and race. Steven Zeitchik wrote for the Washington Post: “Robert De Niro, worried about Trump, is making his festival the most activist yet”. We met Norah Shapiro and Ilhan Omar, at Tribeca Film Festival, for the world premiere of Time for Ilhan. The movie presents one of the most moving stories in recent political history. In 2016 Ilhan Omar was elected as the Minnesota House Representative for District 60B, making her the highest-elected Somali-American public official in the United States and the first Somali-American State Legislator.

Time for Ilhan:  Ilhan Omar, a young, hijab-wearing mother of three, takes on two formidable opponents in a highly contested race for a seat in the Minnesota State Legislature. If successful, she will become the first Somali-American lawmaker in the United States. Similar to the classic tale of David and Goliath, Omar, who is up against a 43-year incumbent, is the “outsider”- a Muslim, refugee, woman of color – who seeks to challenge the party’s status quo while simultaneously defying the gender norms within her own Muslim community. Time for Ilhan shadows Ilhan and her scrappy group of dedicated campaign staffers throughout the entire campaign’s dramatic uphill battle. A fresh take on the old story of the American Dream, the film offers an inspiring, stereotype-busting portrait of a rising political star and a vision of what is truly possible for women and New Americans in politics today.

To discover more about the film, click here.

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PODCAST | Chiara Laganà interviews Stephen Burke and Barry Ward, director and actor of the film Maze.

Writer and director Stephen Burke along with actor Barry Ward talk to us about their movie Maze, which provides an interesting point of view of the Troubles in Northern Ireland. The movie tells the story of the escape from the Maze prison of 38 Provisional Irish Republican Army prisoners that took place on September 25, 1983. It was the biggest breakout in British history despite the fact that the jail was considered to be among Europe’s most secure. Furthermore, Loyalists and Republicans were imprisoned in the same blocks and this was the cause of constant friction between prisoners. Maze centers on the relationship between prisoner Larry Marley (played by Tom Vaughan-Lawlor) and a warden (Barry Ward). Two men at odds, but who nevertheless share a lot in common. While Larry Marley’s character is real, the warden is an amalgamation of different prison guards. Vaughan-Lawlor was cast also because of his physical resemblance to Larry Marley, while Barry Ward studied books and spoke with former guards to prepare for his role. Stephen Burke underlined that he wanted to write the film with extreme accuracy, because the families of those who died during the escape are still alive: the break out also cost the life of a prison officer who died of a heart attack. Given that the Maze prison, where Bobby Sands was jailed and whose story was at the center of Steve McQueen’s Hunger, was partly demolished, the movie was shot in a prison in Cork. The set was really important for both the cast and crew, and Stephen Burke described it as “beneficial” for the movie. Maze achieved the largest opening weekend for an Irish movie in 2017 beating the Oscar-nominated film Room, it was presented at the Festival of Cannes, the Galway Film Fleadh and the Belfast Film Festival. It was announced that Jim Sheridan is also working on a movie about the escape from the Maze, however the film has been postponed due to finance and scheduling problems.

Maze is based on the true story of the 1983 mass breakout of 38 IRA prisoners from the HMP Maze high-security prison. As Larry Marley, the chief architect of the escape, schemes his way towards this feat, he meets prison warden, Gordon Close. Initially they are confirmed enemies, born of opposite sides of Northern Ireland’s political divide, but when Larry realises that Gordon may be useful for his escape, a slow seduction begins. What follows is an intense and intriguing drama during which an unlikely relationship is forged between two adversaries.

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

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PODCAST | Chiara Nicoletti interviews Rupert Everett, director and actor of the film The Happy Prince.

After participating in the last Berlinale and in the Sundance Film Festival, Rupert Everett lands in Italy to release his first film as a director, The Happy Prince, depicting the last phase of Oscar Wilde’s life. Everett reveals the reason behind his choice of potraying these very last moments after his two years’s incarceration for being homosexual, the falling of a star, what he defines as “the passion of Wilde” in a sort of comparison to Jesus Christ’s parable. These fading moments in Wilde’s life are comparable to those Everett himself lived right after he publicly declared his homosexuality in the 90’s. Since then, he has been looking for a good and important role for his comeback but having found none, 10 years ago he decided to personally write it so he conceived the script for The Happy Prince. What does Oscar Wilde represent for Rupert Everett? The actor now turned director reveals his connection and opinions on Wilde and as a director he declares his cinematic influences such as his passion for Luchino Visconti and Franco Zeffirelli’s films. While going through the difficulties Oscar Wilde had to face because of his homosexuality, Everett comments on the health status and achievements of the LGBT community, declaring his concern on the recent acts of violence and bullying that are taking place in “apparently” free countries like Italy and the UK.

The Happy Prince:  Rupert Everett directs and stars in the seldom-told story of the last days of exiled writer Oscar Wilde. Once the toast of London, Wilde is now a spent force. As he lies on his deathbed, the past comes flooding back to him, transporting him to other times and places.

For the official website of the film, click here.

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PODCAST | Chiara Nicoletti interviews Annemarie Jacir, director of the film Wajib.

After Locarno Film Festival, Annemarie Jacir is back on FRED on the occasion of the italian release of her latest film Wajib with actors and father and son in real life, Mohammad Bakri e Saleh Bakri. As it depicts a father-son relationship in the background of Palestinian society in Nazareth, the film shows the contradictions and differences in the way younger generations and older ones deal with the political problems of their country. In a more universal way, as it also shows the conflicting and typical father-son dynamics the film leaves us with many questions and no solutions. Annemarie Jacir talks about deciding to portray her country through these two men’s point of view and the importance of making films like Wajib nowadays.

Wajib: Abu Shadi is a divorced father and a school teacher in his mid-60s living in Nazareth. After his daughter’s wedding in one month he will be living alone. Shadi, his architect son, arrives from Rome after years abroad to help his father in hand-delivering the wedding invitations to each guest as per local Palestinian custom. As the estranged pair spend the day together, the tense details of their relationship come to a head challenging their fragile and very different lives.

For the official website of the film, click here.

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PODCAST | Chiara Nicoletti interviews Saleh Bakri, actor of the film Wajib.

In Wajib,  the third feature film directed by Annemarie Jacir, Saleh Bakri plays the role of a young Palestinian  architect from Nazareth who lives in Italy and comes back to Palestine for his sister’s wedding. In real life, Saleh Bakri fell in love with Italy a long time ago and this love was definitely sealed with his participation to Fabio Grassadonia and Antonio Piazza’s first feature film Salvo. Bakri describes the difficulties and perks of working with his father on the set of a film which sees them fighting not only through the usual father-son dynamics but especially because of the different ways they deal with the Palestinian condition, the Israeli–Palestinian conflict and organizations such as the PLO (The Palestine Liberation Organization).

Wajib: Abu Shadi is a divorced father and a school teacher in his mid-60s living in Nazareth. After his daughter’s wedding in one month he will be living alone. Shadi, his architect son, arrives from Rome after years abroad to help his father in hand-delivering the wedding invitations to each guest as per local Palestinian custom. As the estranged pair spend the day together, the tense details of their relationship come to a head challenging their fragile and very different lives.

For the official website of the film, click here.

The post Saleh Bakri – Wajib appeared first on Fred Film Radio.

PODCAST| Matt Micucci interviews Andrés Goteira, director of the film Dhogs.

Director Andrés Goteira talks to us about his feature debut, Dhogs, featured in the program of the 2018 Istanbul Film Festival. Dhogs is an uneasy film to summarize; at the same time, from this interview, we understand that the intentions of its director to get inside the skin of the viewers and that this film is a critique on passive spectatorship. He also mentions games, and we ask him whether or not he plays games with the actors as well as the audience.

Dhogs, which is compared to the works of David Lynch and Michael Haneke as well as to Straw Dogs and even Holy Motors, is a horror film that toys with notions of destiny and fortune. The lines between victim, perpetrator, and witness intersect through a gas station in the middle of the desert, a desolate hotel, and ghastly events that stem from the deepest and darkest abysses of human nature. The first feature by Andrés Goteira, who hails from Galicia, Spain, is a master and slave film that mercilessly toys with viewers’ minds as it critics the insensitive society and features breath-taking panoramas and a unique atmosphere.

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