FRED Film Radio - English Channel

PODCAST | Chiara Nicoletti interviews Alexandra Borbély, actress of the film On Body and Soul.

Fred’s Chiara Nicoletti meets Alexandra Borbély, the hypnotic protagonist of On Body and Soul by Ildiko Enyedi, in competition at the 67th Berlinale. “Maria is a lovely weirdo” says Alexandra, who got so involved in this role that she learned how to be Maria, how to embody her rationality, her curiosity, her weaknesses and her ability of loving a man in the purest way possible. Love is recognizing each other’s essence and Alexandra learned a lot from her character. Her performance is the most astonishing we’ve seen so far at this year’s Berlinale, so intense that a Silver Bear would be more than appropriate.

On Body and Soul: the director of an industrial slaughterhouse is suspicious about Maria, the new quality inspector sent by the authorities. Endre thinks she’s pretty, but she’s too formal and keeps too much to herself. He also thinks she’s too tough on grading the beef carcass, but Maria sticks to her standards with the same focused order she tries to run her life. During routine company interviews, a lady psychologist discovers that Maria and Endre are having similar recurring dreams. They are embarrassed by what this implies, as the two introverts know nothing about one another outside of work. The following day, they check again: they had the exact same dream the night before. As they continue to compare dreams, it becomes clear that they meet each night in a common realm: a peaceful snowy forest where they are graceful deer who gently love each other. Maria and Endre hesistantly accept this strange coincidence. They cannot ignore the intimacy they share so effortlessly in their dreams. For two people seemingly not suitable at all for love, it won’t be easy to recreate in broad daylight this harmonious relationship of their lonely nights…

For the film page on the festival website click here.

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PODCAST | Chiara Nicoletti interviews Geza Morcsanyi, actor of the film On Body and Soul.

Fred’s Chiara Nicoletti interviews Géza Morcsányi,at the 67th Berlinale to present, in competitioin, On Body and Soul where he’s the protagonist. He is not an actor, he’s a publisher and editor. Despite that, he’s perfect in playing Endre, the director of an industrial slaughterhouse who falls for his new quality inspector, the peculiar and strange Maria. Morcsányi describes its role and its challenges but above all, he reveals how director Ildiko Enyedi managed to find the right ending, so truthful to life. In their dreams Endre and Maria meet and become more attached every day while learning about each other’s weaknesses and emotional or physical disabilities.

On Body and Soul: the director of an industrial slaughterhouse is suspicious about Maria, the new quality inspector sent by the authorities. Endre thinks she’s pretty, but she’s too formal and keeps too much to herself. He also thinks she’s too tough on grading the beef carcass, but Maria sticks to her standards with the same focused order she tries to run her life. During routine company interviews, a lady psychologist discovers that Maria and Endre are having similar recurring dreams. They are embarrassed by what this implies, as the two introverts know nothing about one another outside of work. The following day, they check again: they had the exact same dream the night before. As they continue to compare dreams, it becomes clear that they meet each night in a common realm: a peaceful snowy forest where they are graceful deer who gently love each other. Maria and Endre hesistantly accept this strange coincidence. They cannot ignore the intimacy they share so effortlessly in their dreams. For two people seemingly not suitable at all for love, it won’t be easy to recreate in broad daylight this harmonious relationship of their lonely nights…

For the film page on the festival website click here.

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PODCAST | Matt Micucci interviews Elias Grootaers, director of INSIDE THE DISTANCE, from the 46th International Film Festival Rotterdam.

Elias Grootaers filmed Giorgi Shakhsuvarian, a boxing trainer of Armanian descent who grew up in Georgia and currently lives and works in Belgium. The film, INSIDE THE DISTANCE, was presented at the 2017 International Film Festival Rotterdam, and we ask Grootaers how he met him and what it was that drew him to him. He defines his documentary as “poetic documentary,” before expressing his disapproval of the term. Nevertheless, this is no ordinary documentary, and it does have a very distinctive and expressive visual style that explores the limit of film. In order to understand it better, we ask him about it and he reveals the emotions he felt upon discovering a video shot years ago in Shakhsuvarian. Grootaers, more generally tells us about his interests, and in his answers, the terms “time and space” keep popping up. What is it about these concepts that attracts him? Find out this and more in our interview.

INSIDE THE DISTANCE. A famous director once said that making a film about a real person is a crime, because you can never do justice to life. So what did Elias Grootaers, who prefaces his keenly observed portrait of an Armenian boxing coach in Belgium with this quote, do? Made a film about a real person.

The post Elias Grootaers – Inside the Distance #IFFR2017 appeared first on Fred Film Radio.

PODCAST | Matt Micucci interview Caroline Leone, director of PELA JANELA from the 46th International Film Festival Rotterdam.

Caroline Leone’s PELA JANELA (English title: A Window to Rosalia) draws inspiration from many women she met in her life. Her film can also be defined, as she calls in, an “introspective road movie.” It was presented in during the 2017 International Film Festival Rotterdam. We talk about some of the concepts of the movie, one of its main ones being “coming to face with mortality,” which is a universal theme. She also mentions the role of women in movies, and the way in which in this movie the lead male character and the female one – who are brother and sister – are presented equally. Returning to the “road movie” aspect of the film, we ask her how she prepared to the film, whether it was structured before filming started and whether she was open to the influences from the open road while filming of PELA JANELA was taking place.

PELA JANELA (A Window to Rosalia). Sensitive, heart-warming debut about a journey undertaken by a middle-aged brother and sister. As they set out from São Paulo, the unhappy Rosália is a shadow of her former self. But thanks to her dedicated brother José, during the journey to bustling Buenos Aires she regains the belief that life can be joyful.

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PODCAST | Matt Micucci interviews Kiarash Anvari, director of THE POT AND THE OAK from the 46th International Film Festival Rotterdam.

Kiarash Anvari’s feature debut THE POT AND THE OAK was presented during the 2017 International Film Festival Rotterdam. As many of the best first features, especially those both written and directed by its filmmaker, it is a personal work that was partially born out of Anvari’s personal frustration and desire to finally make his feature debut. Nevertheless, as this interview reveals, he remained open to other influences all throughout the making of THE POT AND THE OAK, even during rehearsals with the actor and post-production, during which he experimented with the structure. There’s a lot to talk about: existentialism, writers’ block, masculinity, Shakespeare, the role that an audience plays in a viewing experience. We try to touch base on all these main points to discuss one of the most interesting works of this year’s edition of Rotterdam’s elite festival.

THE POT AND THE OAK. Borzoo, a not-so-successful playwright, writes a play about his marriage. He wrestles with finding a satisfactory ending, whereas the marriage itself seems to be doomed. When he finds out he is also infertile, Borzoo descends into an existential crisis.

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PODCAST | Matt Micucci interviews director Arí Maniel Cruz and screenwriter/actress Kisha Burgos of the film ANTES QUE CANTE EL GALLO from IFFR 2017.

Director Arí Maniel Cruz and screenwriter and actress Kisha Burgos talk with FRED about their film ANTES QUE CANTE EL GALLO (English title: Before the Rooster Crows), which was presented at the 2017 International Film Festival Rotterdam. Burgos, having written the screenplay, reveals to us that it was based on her personal experiences in growing up and why she dedicated this film to grandmothers. Cruz tells us that he fell in love with her script immediately, and we talk with him about his approach. Other topics we touch base on are the fact that this film, unlike many other authentic and arthouse takes on the coming-of-age-drama, has a female leading character and how they worked with the actors, which certainly benefited from the two’s theatrical background.

ANTES QUE CANTE EL GALLO (Before theRooster Crows). Coming-of-age drama in which a Puerto Rican teen girl is living at her strict grandmother’s house, waiting until she can move to America to be with her mom. That gets cancelled. As she suffers and struggles with puberty, her natural father suddenly appears after years in prison.

The post Arí Maniel Cruz, Kisha Burgos – Antes Que Cante El Gallo #IFFR2017 appeared first on Fred Film Radio.

PODCAST | Matt Micucci interviews Konstantin Bojanov, director of LIGHT THEREAFTER from the 46th International Film Festival Rotterdam.

Konstantin Bojanov presented his film LIGHT THEREAFTER at the 2017 International Film Festival Rotterdam. He reveals to us that he does have a personal connection to the film, although he doesn’t think that having a personal connection is necessary to tell a story, because one of its key themes is that of fine arts, and he himself is a fine artist. The film ditches the traditionalist chronological narrative structure. “I wanted the film to be like a mosaic,” he tells us in this interview. Through his words we also get to take a closer look to some other themes of the film, the visual style and, among other things, give a shout out to Barry Keoghan, who does an excellent job in his performance as the leading character of the film.

LIGHT THEREAFTER. For sixteen-year-old Pavel, painting is a matter of survival. Looking for something to hold on to, he goes to Provence to visit the artist he sees as his “spiritual father”. His unease is palpable in this reverse-chronological report on his adventurous, character-forming pilgrimage.

The post Konstantin Bojanov – Light Thereafter #IFFR2017 appeared first on Fred Film Radio.

PODCAST | Matt Micucci interviews director Hokimoto Sora and actor Yamamoto Keisuke on the film HARUNEKO from the 46th International Film Festival Rotterdam.

We meet director Hokimoto Sora, who presented his first time feature HARUNEKO at the 2017 International Film Festival in Rotterdam. Joining us also, his lead actor and friend of over four years, Yamamoto Keisuke. The two are apparently inseparable. The impression is the director already had the lead actor in mind before the cameras started rolling. HARUNEKO is no straight forward story. It is also a film about death and a journey between life and death. It is implied that the film will be a different experience for anyone watching it. In fact, as the director tells us, not even the cast or the crew knew exactly what it was all about. Was it difficult for Yamamoto to get into this role given the nature of the narrative? We also ask him why Hokimoto Sora is so interested in dealing with death in his films and much more.

HARUNEKO. Those who seek to die find refuge in a mysterious café. In this feverish musical dream that recalls Terayama Shuji, the forest is a place where life and death blur. Produced by Aoyama Shinji, this Japanese debut is full of life but tinted in darkness.

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PODCAST | Chiara Nicoletti interviews Matthjis Wouter Knol, director of the EFM – European Film Market.

Three is the magic number and we can sense that by looking at the 2017 edition of the European Film Market as it’s the third year Mathijs Wouter Knol is directing the EFM. The EFM has always been a very active and useful film market but there’s a special energy surrounding it this year, in termos of innovation and new ideas. IT’s “the film industry of the future” to be one of the new initiatives at the Martin Gropious Bau’s headquarters as EFM Horizon presented by Audi will be presented. The main topics will be Virtual Reality, Computer Games, Startups and New Technologies. Last year the EFM decided to focus its attention on Korea as a very important country to explore in terms of production, co-production and distribution possibilities. This test on a country transformed into a new programme, Country in Focus, that is conceived to give the film industry and filmmakers of a country the opportunity to introduce themselves in greater depth and highlight certain aspects. Mexico is not the only country to attract the EFM’s attention. A new platform for innovation and technology will be introduced,the Berlinale Africa Hub and among the Industry Debates, one is dedicated to the Arab world: New Prospects: Challenges and Opportunities in the Arab Film Industry. Drama series continues so that now all the panel discussions and market screenings, which are offered by the European Film Market, will be set a in a new exclusive venue,Berlin’s legendary Zoo Palast cinema.

Every year more than 3,800 media representatives from over 80 countries converge on the Berlin International Film Festival, making the Berlinale one of the biggest media events in the film industry’s calendar. The European Film Market is the business centre of the Festival and one of the top international film markets in the world. Attended by over 8,300 international industry professionals including almost 1,500 buyers and more than 480 exhibitors, the EFM is where the film world looks for business news during the Berlinale.

European Film Market website here.

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PODCAST | Jordan Mattos, distributor.

Fillmmaker turned distributor Jordan Mattos from New York City, participating in the Market section of the Talents Campus, talks about the challenges of selling international films in a tough market like the USA.

For the official website click here.

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