FRED Film Radio - English Channel

PODCAST| Nicolò Comotti interviews Alex De Ronde, director of the film Deaf Child.

Alex De Ronde finally decided that it was time to educate the hearing world. Thanks to his commitment, we have the chance to watch the amazing documentary Deaf Child, the story of his son Tobias, deaf since birth. Utterly subverting all the preconceptions and frankly the’ blissful ignorance’ that pervade any hearing person, Deaf Child is a striking film that will shape the audience’s view on the deaf community, as well as adjusting the innate arrogance that society has towards any of its minorities.

Deaf Child is a coming of age film by Alex de Ronde in which he portrays the life of his son, a charismatic young man who happens to be deaf. The film follows Tobias from the cradle to the present day through archive material and other personal footage.

To discover more about the film, click here.

The post Alex De Ronde – Deaf Child #TDF20 appeared first on Fred Film Radio.

PODCAST| Nicolò Comotti interviews Mohammed Siam, director of the film Amal.

Mohammed Siam joins us in Thessaloniki to discuss his latest feature Amal. Documenting six years in the life of a young girl in the midst of the Arab revolution, Amal is an accurate study about the disillusion that followed suit. A whole generation gave up on change, and is still coping with the uncertainty of a country with no clear future ahead. Primordial anger, fear and a single grain of hope are the only tangible feelings they have left. We, as an audience, experience this through the piercing eyes of Amal.

Amal:  Amal is 14 years old when she ends up on Tahrir Square during the Egyptian revolution, after the death of her boyfriend in the Port Said Stadium riot. During the protests, she is beaten by police and dragged across the square by her hair. This coming-of-age film follows her over the years after the revolution. As the film cuts between the unfolding current events and Amal’s rapidly changing life and appearance, we see her searching for her own identity in a country in transition. Amal is fiery and fearless, sinking her teeth into the protests and constantly lecturing her mother, who works as a judge. A girl among men, she also has to fight for respect and the right to take part, both in the street and in the rest of her life. In Egypt, even for a young woman like Amal—her name means “hope”—the choices open to her for her future are limited.

The post Mohammed Siam – Amal #TDF20 appeared first on Fred Film Radio.

PODCAST| Nicolò Comotti interviews Luis Lanchares, director of the film Sounds of Kibera.

Luis Lanchares is here in Thessaloniki with his documentary Sounds of Kibera, in the music section of TDF20. After spending some time with an NGO in Kenya’s biggest slum, Lanchares decided to document the beautiful commitment and talent that resides in a place that has been forgotten for too long. A documentary that shows that solidarity and community can really achieve the unthinkable, Sounds of Kibera is a joyful reminder that art and ambition will always be meaningful, when shared and lived with the people around us.

Sounds of Kibera:  Simon, Oyoo and Philip are three artists who live in Kibera (Kenya), one of the biggest slums of the world. Their new project, Made in Kibera, seeks to improve their community through the construction of the first professional sound studio inside the slum.

To discover more about the film, click here.

The post Luis Lanchares – Sounds of Kibera #TDF20 appeared first on Fred Film Radio.

PODCAST| Nicolò Comotti interviews Martin DiCicco, director of the film All That Passes By Through a Window That Doesn’t Open.

Martin DiCicco opens up about what it really meant to make his first documentary All That Passes By Through a Window That Doesn’t Open. A time-, money- and life- consuming personal act, All That Passes By  is for DiCicco so much more than simply a study of a railway imbued with the hopes and the endemic conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan. It is a moment to raise intelligent and earnest questions on how to shape oneself along with the ideas that are carried within a film.

All That Passes By Through a Window That Doesn’t Open:  Caucasus. While labourers from Azerbaijan are working on the construction of a new high-speed train line intended to bring glory to future generations, in Armenia, a station master has been awaiting, idle, the return of the trains for 20 years beyond a closed border, in an abandoned depot. In a landscape whose light and colours are reminiscent of the atmosphere of a Western, the men at work are filmed in a suspended time frame, struggling with their economic needs and their dreams for a better future. The social and political situation of this territory is developing between two countries that have a deeply troubled relationship but whose workers are in unison. Their harsh daily routine, filmed with a certain thoughtfulness, subtly reveals what makes it possible: moments of complicity. With wonderful sequences and an original narrative structure — fragments of magic appear through the editing (of images and sound) — All That Passes By Through a Window That Doesn’t Open seizes the history and the present of a world crossroads.

The post Martin DiCicco – All That Passes By Through a Window That Doesn’t Open #TDF20 appeared first on Fred Film Radio.

PODCAST| Nicolò Comotti interviews Rina Castelnuovo-Hollander, director of the film Muhi: Generally Temporary.

Rina Castelnuovo-Hollander, despite her life-long experience in photojournalism, did not think that making a documentary would affect her life the way that making Muhi: Generally Temporary did. Muhi is a film that tackles the unbearable hardships and injustice that reign in Israel and Gaza. This time, there is no excuse. We live the strife for joy of Muhi, and the pain of his grandfather Abu Naim, their family only one hour away, the wall(s) standing between them. A deeply emotional and powerful story, Muhi engages with the audience in ways that are impossible to ignore.

Muhi: Generally Temporary:  For the past seven years Muhi, a brave and spirited Palestinian boy has been living in an Israeli hospital, unable to return to his home in Gaza. Caught between two worlds and two peoples, Muhi is raised in paradoxical circumstances that transcend identity, religion and the conflict that divides his world. His time at the hospital is running out and Muhi now faces the most critical choices of his life.

To discover more about the film, click here.

The post Rina Castelnuovo-Hollander – Muhi: Generally Temporary #TDF20 appeared first on Fred Film Radio.

PODCAST| Nicolò Comotti interviews Harris Mylonas, director of the film Searching for Andreas.

We sat down with Harris Mylonas to find out more about his decision to make the insightful documentary Searching for Andreas, a film that thoroughly analyses the figure of Andreas Papandreou. Mylonas decodes Papandreou’s history, a politician that was as divisive as decisive in Greek’s late 20th century. By doing so, the Greek director and academic hands us the tools to understand a much bigger picture, in order to pinpoint where all the mess and disaffection in today’s world politics actually come from.

Searching for Andreas:  The documentary Searching for Andreas is an independent production about the pitfalls of charismatic leadership and the limits of democratic politics under the pressures of economic globalization. Charismatic leaders often build personalistic parties and undermine political institutions, while their succession is fraught with difficulties. Searching for Andreas explores peoples’ reliance on such leaders. It examines the life and legacy of one of Europe’s most controversial leaders, Andreas Papandreou. Was he a socialist reformer or a populist manipulator? Regardless of what one believes about Andreas’ politics, Greece won’t emerge from the crisis until it confronts his legacy.

To discover more about the film, click here.

The post Harris Mylonas – Searching for Andreas #TDF20 appeared first on Fred Film Radio.

PODCAST| Chiara Nicoletti interviews Franz Rogowski, actor of the film Transit.

Franz Rogowski is not only Germany’s 2018 Shooting Star but at the Berlinale he is the star of two films in competition: Transit and In The Aisles. FRED’s Chiara Nicoletti meets him during the presentation of Transit, so halfway through his exciting journey at the 68th Berlinale. In Transit, Christian Petzold’s new film, Rogowski is Georg, a man with no past who in a sort of imaginary future where German refugees are escaping to the States and to Mexico, steals a friend’s identity to change his life and destiny. As Georg starts to become a person the more he gets deeper into another person’s shoes, Rogowski explains his approach to the character and whether having to create Georg out of nowhere was easy or difficult. Rogowski then talks about Christian Petzold, their work together and Petzold’s abilities in a famous game in Germany.

Transit:  German troops are fast approaching Paris. Georg, a German refugee, escapes to Marseille in the nick of time. In his luggage, he carries the documents of an author, Weidel, who has taken his own life in fear of his persecutors. Those documents include a manuscript, letters and visa assurance from the Mexican embassy. In Marseille, only those who can prove they will leave, may remain. Visas for possible host countries, transit visas, and those scarce tickets for passage by ship are much needed. Georg has memorized Weidel’s papers and assumes his identity. He delves into the quasi-existence of flight: refugee chatter in the corridors of a small hotel, the consulates, cafes and bars that line the harbor… He befriends Driss, the son of his comrade Heinz, who died on the run. Why move on at all? Are new beginnings possible elsewhere anyway? Everything changes when Georg falls in love with the mysterious Marie. Is it devotion or calculation that has led her to share her life with a doctor, Richard, before journeying on in search of her husband? He’s said to have surfaced in Marseille in possession of a Mexican visa for him and his wife.

To discover more about the film, click here.

The post Franz Rogowski – Transit #Berlinale2018 appeared first on Fred Film Radio.

PODCAST| Chiara Nicoletti interviews Stellan Skarsgard, actor of the film Gordon & Paddy.

Stellan Skarsgard is back at the Berlinale, the 68th edition, as the voice of a frog in the children’s animation film Gordon & Paddy written and directed by Linda Hamback and screening in the Generation Section. The actor describes how different and more natural it is to go back to acting in his mother-tongue as he hadn’t done that since Borg McEnroe. As his youngest son (among the actors) Walter’s successful acting in Lords of Chaos at the Sundance Film Festival is the perfect occasion to ask Skarsgard about his family, he declares that he hopes his sons will be totally out of his shadow quite soon as he believes in parents not having to interfere in their children’s life and careers. Giving his voice to Gordon the detective frog in Gordon & Paddy gave Skarsgard the opportunity of working with two women he had successfully and happily worked with before: director Linda Hamback and actress Melinda Kinnaman. Skarsgard then finally talks about how it was to go back to the Mamma Mia! set after 10 years and the fun they all had in continuing this film’s journey. Since he worked with Lars Von Trier several times and the director was among the ones accused of sexual abuse, Skarsgard comments on the #Metoo movement, its positive effects and its negative sides.

Gordon & Paddy:  As benevolent, work-weary Detective Gordon bites into an afternoon biscuit, the frog’s mind is filled with visions of retirement. For many years he’s kept the peace in his forest community, while protecting its citizens from the dreaded fox. In his eyes, the clever and ambitious mouse Paddy would make an excellent successor. But as soon as he has sworn her in she finds herself facing her first challenge: two young children have gone missing and the other animals are in a panic. Will Paddy be a match for the fox? Based on the book series by Ulf Nilsson and Gitte Spee, with a sly nod to the Scandinavian detective fiction genre and featuring the voice of Stellan Skarsgard, this film explores what it means to grow into roles, challenge prejudices and uncover truths.

To discover more about the film, click here.

The post Stellan Skarsgard – Gordon & Paddy #Berlinale2018 appeared first on Fred Film Radio.

PODCAST| Chiara Nicoletti interviews David and Nathan Zellner, directors of the film Damsel.

After premiering their latest feature, Damsel, at the 2018 Sundance Film Festival, David and Nathan Zellner are in competition at the 68th Berlinale. Damsel is their first western but as they admit, it is a feminist western that aims at deconstructing the whole genre while breaking every single one of its stereotypes and archetypes. So Nathan chose himself for the part of the damsel in distress while giving Mia Wasikowska the role that usually went to men in traditional western movies. Robert Pattinson could be mistaken for the knight in shining armour but only for half hour. David and Nathan Zellner finally explain how they worked on balancing the surreal elements, the comedic and slapstick ones along with the dramatic moments.

Damsel:  Samuel Alabaster (Robert Pattinson), an affluent pioneer, ventures across the American Frontier to marry the love of his life, Penelope (Mia Wasikowska). As Samuel traverses the Wild West with a drunkard named Parson Henry (David Zellner) and a miniature horse called Butterscotch, their once-simple journey grows treacherous, blurring the lines between hero, villain and damsel. A loving reinvention of the western genre from the Zellner brothers (Kumiko, the Treasure Hunter), Damsel showcases their trademark unpredictability, off-kilter sense of humour, and unique brand of humanism.

To discover more about the film, click here.

The post David and Nathan Zellner – Damsel #Berlinale2018 appeared first on Fred Film Radio.

PODCAST| Chiara Nicoletti interviews Christy Garland, director of the film What Walaa Wants.

Documentarist Christy Garland finished editing What Walaa Wants in January 2018 after spending 6 years since 2012, following the life of Walaa Khaled Fawzy Tanji, a Palestinian girl whose dream was to be a policewoman in the Palestinian Security Forces . Christy met Walaa when she was 15 and followed her life for years to show her strength, her ability to break all the rules only to harshly learn, that sometimes there are some rules one needs to follow anyhow. At the 68th Berlinale where What Walaa Wants is premiering in the Generation section, Christy tells FRED’s Chiara Nicoletti how difficult it was for Walaa to be followed around for so much time and in every step of her life but the result was a sort of a diary where Walaa was able to see her change into a strong woman.

What Walaa Wants:  Raised in a refugee camp in the West Bank while her mother was in prison, Walaa dreams of being a policewoman, wearing a uniform, avoiding marriage, and earning a salary. Despite discouragement from her family, even from her beloved brother Mohammed, Walaa applies – and gets in. But her own rebellious behavior and a complicated relationship with her mother are a challenge, as are the circumstances under which she lives. Following Walaa from 15 to 21, with an intimate POV and the exuberant energy of its subject, this first-ever look inside the Palestinian police academy brings us the story of a young woman navigating formidable obstacles, learning which rules to break and which to follow, and disproving the negative predictions from her surroundings and the world at large.

To discover more about the film, click here.

The post Christy Garland – What Walaa Wants #Berlinale2018 appeared first on Fred Film Radio.