FRED Film Radio - English Channel

PODCAST | Matt Micucci interviews director Petr Lom and poet Mae Yway on BURMA STORYBOOK from the 47th International Film Festival Rotterdam.

Burma is a land of poetry. BURMA STORYBOOK, is a film that tries to collect these stories. But also, a documentary on Burmese storytelling and poetry is a powerful thing because of the political importance that poetry played, and continues to play in Burma. It is testified, in the film, by the physical presence of Myanmar activist and poet Maung Aung Pwint, whom we discuss in this interview as well. It is also talked about, in this interview, by the poet Mae Yway, who also collaborated on the film. The film also complements the poetry visually, through a stunning work of photography. In our chat, Lom mentions the word “grace,” and that is a word that can easily be used to describe BURMA STORYBOOK as a whole. We talk about the technical aspect of the film, what personally drew the director to Burma, and much more.

BURMA STORYBOOK: Poet and activist from Myanmar Maung Aung Pwint has spent large swathes of his life in prison. Now the country is free after 50 years of military dictatorship, he reminisces and struggles with painful memories. A poetic, loving documentary about a country reinventing itself.

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PODCAST | Matt Micucci interviews Min-Wei Ting, director of I’M COMING UP from the 46th International Film Festival Rotterdam.

I‘M COMING UP, by Min-Wei Ting, was screened at the 2017 International Film Festival Rotterdam. This is a film with a simple story: a single shot, 89 minutes long, that takes us from the bottom of a building to the top of the building. People, on the other hand, who naturally are almost always at the forefront of every film, are almost like a disruption. I‘M COMING UP is, therefore cinema on the edge, right at the limit, that delights in submitting him to an immersive (and maybe oppressive) experience. It also places a building, and architecture, at the forefront of a film. What are the challenges of undertaking such a project? What inspired Min-Wei Ting to make this film in the first place? The incredible soundscape of the movie contributes greatly to the effect of this viewing experience, which in many ways is unique, so we also ask him about this aspect of I‘M COMING UP.

I’M COMING UP: Is it a computer game or actually a documentary report? Endless reconnoitering of a gigantic apartment complex in the night, along balconies, corridors and stairs, from bottom to top, turns into a hallucinogenic trip. In the face of desolate, visual monotony is an eclectic, extremely layered soundtrack filled with concrete sounds. Alienation all the way.

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PODCAST | Matt Micucci interviews Mars Roberge, director of SCUMBAG from the 46th International Film Festival Rotterdam.

Drawing on his own personal experiences, asa DJ working in a telemarketing office in the 90’s, Mars Roberge has made more than just a film: he has created a cinematic revolution. For and with SCUMBAG, he has, in fact, created a whole new genre, which he has named “rocktopia,” and for which he drew up an entire manifesto. This interview also stands to show his passion and excitement for the film, which is a fun, funny, exciting, wild movie that has been called a “a dark, DIY, take-it-or-leave-it comedy with a musical pulse.” The film is, in fact, certainly not formulaic and often unpredictable, breaking the rules and testing the limits of the cinematic medium in its own way. We get a real insightful behind the scenes talk about the experience of making the movie, of where the characters and situations of SCUMBAG came from, the importance of music in his vision, and much more.

SCUMBAG: A young hipster fights for his sanity as he joins a telemarketing company, full of crazy workers, ex-convicts and murderers. It’s anarchy on the phone line and in this dark comedy on self-fulfilment under extreme conditions, showcasing a plethora of legendary faces from the US underground culture.

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PODCAST | Matt Micucci interviews Kevin Phillips, director of SUPER DARK TIMES, from the 46th International Film Festival Rotterdam.

Kevin Phillips presented his fiction feature directorial debut, SUPER DARK TIMES, at the International Film Festival Rotterdam 2017. Here, he explores such themes as youth, masculinity and friendships. Without giving too much away, he tells us why he was attracted by Ben Collins and Luke Piotrowski’s screenplay as well as why he thinks many first films by some of the best filmmakers deal with youth and childhood. Phillips comes from a cinematography background. Because SUPER DARK TIMES is his feature directorial debut, we ask him about how he works and what his approach to filmmaking is.

SUPER DARK TIMES: A terrible accident transforms best friends from high school Zach and Josh into enemies. This ambitious thriller is set in the American suburbs of the early 1990s – the pre-Columbine era. A refreshing debut, searching for the boundaries between adolescence and adulthood, courage and fear, good and evil.

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PODCAST | Matt Micucci interviews Juri Rechinsky, director of UGLY from the 46th International Film Festival Rotterdam.

UGLY marks the fiction feature debut of filmmaker Juri Rechinsky. In this interview he tells us that it is not meant to be a “pleasant” film. It was also a difficult film to make for reasons that he talks about in this film. Ultimately, one of its key intentions is to expose the audience to a reality, which he believes is that “the core problem is the same: we are afraid of dying, we are afraid of losing people we love and we have no chance to avoid it.” Working on UGLY was also important for him on a personal level. Furthermore, there is a reason why he feels drawn to this specific time of concept, subject and context. In this interview, he tells us what reason is.

UGLY: Following an accident, Hanna from Austria, who is in a relationship with Jura from Kiev, ends up in hospital in Ukraine with a fractured skull. In wonderful tableaux, shot by Ulrich Seidl’s regular cameraman Wolfgang Thaler, this oppressive debut by Rechinskyshows the pain of existence on the periphery of Europe.

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PODCAST | Matt Micucci interviews Debra Haden, actress of SCUMBAG by Mars Roberge, from the 46th International Film Festival Rotterdam.

In Mars Roberge’s film SCUMBAG, which had its premiere at the 2017 International Film Festival Rotterdam, actress Debra Haden plays the role of a former loose cannon who encourages her boyfriend to lead a straight life, but finds that her encouragements contributes to causing problems in their relationship. The film is wild, fun and in many ways rebellious, and it seems that it was shot that way too. The emotional intensity of the film required Haden to go from shooting a joyful musical sequence to crying in short period of time. We ask her about the challenges of working in this envoronment, but also about the incredible collaborative atmosphere and friendship of the set. Besides SCUMBAG and acting, we also take some time to talk about her other projects, including an interesting animation one and work in fashion design.

SCUMBAG: A young hipster fights for his sanity as he joins a telemarketing company, full of crazy workers, ex-convicts and murderers. It’s anarchy on the phone line and in this dark comedy on self-fulfilment under extreme conditions, showcasing a plethora of legendary faces from the US underground culture.

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PODCAST | Matt Micucci interviews Camille Waldorf, actress of SCUMBAG by Mars Roberge, from the 46th International Film Festival Rotterdam.

Camille Waldorf plays one of the leading roles in Mars Roberge’s film SCUMBAG, which premiered at the 2017 International Film Festival Rotterdam. She plays the role of Megan and describes her character as one that “holds everybody together,” before beginning to show occasional signs of rebellion. We ask her about the genesis of the project for her and what she liked about working on the movie. Besides the film we talk about her interests and her other artistic endeavours, including her work as a fine art painter and her songwriting. This prompts us to try to understand the collective art-scene which she is a part of and which this film seems to indirectly pay tribute to.

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PODCAST | Matt Micucci talks to Linda Lamb, singer songwriter whose work can be heard on the film SCUMBAG by Mars Roberge, from the 46th International Film Festival Rotterdam

Singer sonwriter Linda Lamb contributed one of her songs to Mars Roberge’s SCUMBAG, which had its premiere at the 2017 International Film Festival Rotterdam. We talk with her about how she met Roberge, and how she ended up being a part of SCUMBAG. Given the fact that the film takes place during the 90’s, which is also the timeframe during which Lamb first bet Roberge, we aske her about what she misses about those times and particularly about what she misses in music from those times.

SCUMBAG: A young hipster fights for his sanity as he joins a telemarketing company, full of crazy workers, ex-convicts and murderers. It’s anarchy on the phone line and in this dark comedy on self-fulfilment under extreme conditions, showcasing a plethora of legendary faces from the US underground culture.

Scumbag Official Trailer from Mars Roberge on Vimeo.

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PODCAST | Chiara Nicoletti interviews Anna Matamala, head of the organising committee of ARSAD, the Advanced Research Seminar on Audio Description.

The 7th edition of ARSAD is coming up. The Advanced Research Seminar on Audio Description will take place in Barcelona from march 16th to the 17th. To better understand the world of media accessibility and all the work that has been done through the years to have the majority of media contents accessible for visually impaired people, ARSAD is the place to start. Anna Matamala, ARSAD’s head of the organising committee introduces the seminar, its genesis, main purpose and evolution during its seven years of activity.

Since its beginning in 2007, the international seminar on audio description ARSAD has been a meeting point for all key agents interested in both research and practice in audio description. Its sixth edition, to be held in Barcelona on March 16th (all day) and 17th (morning) 2017, aims to take stock of recent advances while looking at the future of the field. ARSAD 2017 would like to engage practitioners, researchers, trainers, trainees, regulators, broadcasters, users, social activists, cultural managers, and anyone interested in audio description in a fruitful discussion on the past, present and future of audio description.

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PODCAST | Chiara Nicoletti interviews director Alessandro Gropplero, head of When East Meets West.

For its 7th edition,When East meets West, the Italian co-production forum taking place on January 22-24, 2017 in the context of the Trieste Film Festival, launches a double focus: the spotlight territories will indeed be France and Baltic Countries (Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania). The Co-production forum just announced the selection of Last Stop Trieste and First Cut Lab and more than 350 industry professionals will be attending. 22 film projects from 15 different countries have been selected and the number of female directors increased in comparison to the last few years. Among the panels and conferences taking place during WEMW, Women in the European Film Industry will discuss the role of women in the industry. The panel has been organized with the European Women Audiovisual Network.

WHEN EAST MEETS WEST 2017 will bring together over 350 producers, financiers, decision makers and film professionals from more than 30 countries, and, in particular, from the spotlight territories. After a first focus on France in 2011, the Nordic countries in 2012, the German speaking countries in 2013, Benelux in 2014, UK, Ireland and North America in 2015, Spain, Portugal and Latin America in 2016, the 2017 upcoming edition will bring some fresh air with a slightly refined format launching for the very first time a new East & West double focus on France and the Baltic countries (Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania). This new formula is based on two complementary ideas: on the one hand, future call for entries will be open to all producers from Europe (plus North and Latin America) who are developing a project with an East/West co-production potential, preferably with one of the selected countries in focus; on the other hand, WEMW will ensure the presence of a large and comprehensive delegation of key decision makers, financiers, producers and film professionals from each spotlight territory so to maximise the co-production, financing and distribution opportunities for all selected projects.

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