FRED Film Radio - English Channel

PODCAST | Matt Micucci interviews Julia Furer, director of Julien from Future Frames at the 51st Karlovy Vary International Film Festival.

Julien is the documentary by Julia Furer, selected as part of EFP’s Future Frames platform, intended to highlight the works of up and coming talented filmmakers from Europe. We talk about this documentary and her experience at Future Frames. We also ask her about whether she sees herself a documentary filmmaker or whether she thinks she will ever try her luck at fiction works. On top of this, she reveals some of her influences as a filmmaker, a dreaded question that nevertheless highlights that her influences do not only come exclusively from cinema and the world of film, but also, for instance, photography.

JULIAN: Julian has been living in an old warehouse for twelve years, building harpsichords. When he faces eviction from his live-in workshop, he is confronted with the fact that he has neglected himself as a human being; he is suddenly aware of his life-style, and of the ever more pressing questions about his future and his purpose in life.

For more information on Future Frames, go to http://www.efp-online.com/en/project_talent_promotion/future_frames.php

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PODCAST | Matt Micucci interviews Ondrej Hudecek, director of Peacock from last year’s Future Frames at the Karlovy Vary International Film Festival.

“One audience member at a festival described the film to me as ‘Barry Lyndon on crack’,” says director Ondrej Hudecek on his short film Peacock, who was a participant in last year’s program of the European Film Promotion’s Future Frames. We talk about the film, its inspirations and the reactions it received throughout the year of traveling through different festival since premiering at the Karlovy Vary International Film Festival last year. But aside from this, we also take the opportunity of talking about Future Frames and his experience being part of the platform for up and coming talented filmmakers at the festival, what happened in the program and what he learned from it.

PEACOCK: Bohemia, 19th Century. Ladislav, the mischievous son of a landlord, terrorizes the village with cruel jokes. War breaks and Ladislav is forced to hide in a monastery, where he unexpectedly discovers his hidden desires. He returns home and befriends Jan, a sensitive young poet. Together they experience moments of undiluted happiness. However, passionate Ladislav soon becomes jealous and his endeavor to dominate Jan triggers a series of grievous events… A dramatic history of the rise of one of the most influential Czech writers, paved with flesh, bones and blood. A black comedy based on a true story, a queer literary encyclopedia, and a historical picture book in one.

For more information on Future Frames, go to http://www.efp-online.com/en/project_talent_promotion/future_frames.php

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PODCAST | Matt Micucci interviews Rebecca Figenschau, director of Elephant Skin from Future Frames at the 51st Karlovy Vary International Film Festival.

From Norway, Rebecca Figenschau, director of Elephant Skin; selected for the 2016 edition of EFP’s Future Frames. The film, therefore, screened at the Karlovy Vary International Film Festival. Quite a personal film, and one in which Figenschau had to stay open to the unexpected and think sharply of different ways to solve the problem. We also talk about other things, such as the audience’s reaction to the screening (she called the Karlovy Vary audience an “excellent audience”), her experience at Future Frames and her future projects, ambitions and plans.

ELEPHANT SKIN: After a tough breakup, Johanna returns to her abandoned childhood home,aiming to create a safe nest for herself and her son. But shortly after they start to settle, her father shows up. Full of contempt over his daughter’s sensitivity, he starts to toughen up his grandchild, arguing that this is necessary for him to become a survivor in life. A power struggle between father and daughter begins, and Johanna is challenged to stand up for what strength means to her.

For more information on Future Frames, go to http://www.efp-online.com/en/project_talent_promotion/future_frames.php

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PODCAST | Matt Micucci interviews Roxana Stroe, director of A Night in Tokoriki from Future Frames at the 51st Karlovy Vary International Film Festival.

It started from a video of a homeless guy online and his dream of setting up his own disco. It became A Night in Tokoriki, and the film was selected as part of the programme of European Film Promotion‘s Future Frame, which highlights the works of up and coming talented filmmakers from the European territory. The film is directed by Roxana Stroe, and we caught up with her just before the screening of the film in Karlovy Vary International Film Festival. Aside from talking about A Night in Tokoriki, her collaboration with Ana-Maria Gheorghe, and her future (“there’s always something in the works,” she says) we talk about her experience at Future Frames so far.

A NIGHT IN TOKORIKI: In an improvised night club called “Tokoriki” the whole village celebrates Geanina’s 18th birthday. Her boyfriend and Alin will give her a most surprising gift, one that nobody will ever forget.

For more information on Future Frames, go to http://www.efp-online.com/en/project_talent_promotion/future_frames.php

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PODCAST | Matt Micucci interviews Szabolcs Hajdu, director of It’s Not the Time of My Life, winner of the top prize at the 51st Karlovy Vary International Film Festival.

Szabolcs Hajdu is one of the most exciting European filmmakers in modern times, and part of the excitement in his body of work can be seen in the varied nature of his body of work. It’s Not the Time of My Life, his latest film that had its World premiere in the official competition of the 51st Karlovy Vary International Film Festival – where it also won the festival’s top prize – is for instance quite different from the modern western Mirage, his previous feature that we previously interviewed the director for.

It’s Not the Time of My Life is a film about family and there was a special motive for Hajdu to explore such a personal theme, which resulted out of his wish to return to a type of filmmaker that did not try to communicate any weighty, political message. In fact, his concern was that he was turning into exactly that type of filmmaker too much. To encourage this personal nature of the film, which is the film version of a stage play he wrote produced and starred in, he brought in his own family to act the roles. In addition to being a celebrated and noteworthy filmmaker, Hajdu is a respected film educator and the wonderful, precise camera work was composed by 13 different DOPs who are students of his.

This winning ingredient expands the chamber piece format of the narrative, but as this interview reveals, Hajdu is equally as daring in his approach to theatre, given the fact that the play version of this film was brought to the stage in a fascinating way. Certainly one of the best films of the 2016 KVIFF.

IT’S NOT THE TIME OF MY LIFE: The renowned Hungarian filmmaker (White Palms, Bibliothèque Pascal) has come out with an intimate study of two families thrown together by circumstance to temporarily share an unusual apartment. This independent movie – outstanding for its inventive production, precisely limned characters, and performances that get under the skin – draws faithfully on the work of Cassavetes and Bergman.

The post Director Szabolcs Hajdu talks about “It’s Not the Time Of My Life” #KVIFF2016 appeared first on Fred Film Radio.

PODCAST | Matt Micucci interviews Grzegorz Zariczny, director of Waves from the 51st Karlovy Vary International Film Festival.

Grzegorz Zariczny, Polish filmmaker with a documentary backgrounds, had the world premiere of his first fiction feature film in Karlovy Vary this year. He is also a man of a few words – although that might be the language barrier. Nevertheless, in those few words, he manages to encapsulate some of the spirit of his film Waves.

We caught up with Zariczny just after one of the screenings of the film. Upon asking him how it went, he replied “well, you know, it’s dark in the cinema so you don’t know what people are doing,” before voicing his disappointment at one person that walked out during the screening (out of a full house.)

 A film that treasures realism, it is still surprising to hear that Waves originated from an earlier documentary short made last year and featuring the two leading non-professional actresses of Waves as themselves. We also talk about the importance of the setting of the film, a smaller town in Poland dressed in post-Communist greys, and find out that it took the director two years of working on the film before shooting began.

WAVES: Ania and Kasia are hairstyling apprentices spending time between school, shifts at a salon in a deserted Kraków housing complex, and home where relations with parents are far from harmonious. The story of two likably headstrong girls on their way to adulthood was shot with an emphasis on authenticity, and it can’t help but recall the best work of the Czechoslovak New Wave.

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PODCAST | Matt Micucci interviews Mark Higham, programme director and founder of Film Literacy Europe, from the 51st Karlovy Vary International Film Festival.

A number of panel discussions and various events took place at this year’s Karlovy Vary International Film festival, revolving around the concepts of film education and film literacy. One of the participants, Mark Higham, is the director of Film Literacy Europe, an institution that offers help and support in the development of film literacy programs across the European territories. We ask him about it and he also tells us about some of its international projects. One particularly stands out; “The Empathy Project” aims to establish communication between young people from countries in conflict. The conversation also offers insight in the overall concept of film literacy, and Higham even reveals some of the challenges, most of which are of practical nature, that Film Literacy Europe encounters in its work.

For more information on Film Literacy Europe, go to http://www.filmliteracyeurope.org/about.html

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PODCAST | Matt Micucci interviews Triin Ruumet, director of The Days That Confused from the 51st Karlovy Vary International Film Festival.

What’s the best part of filmmaking? To Triin Ruumet, 28, who presented her feature debut The Days That Confused at Karlovy Vary this year, it is being in the sauna with the people you love, who are making a film with you. The answer is so down to earth, it is almost disarming. But that is Triin quite simply. She will not abide the conventional laws of interviews at an international film festival. In fact, at the end of the interview, she bursts spontaneously into a song; possibly the best outro to a FRED Film Radio interview.

Regarding the film, she is as straight to the point. “It’s a film about a guy who wakes up, gets drunk, goes fu**ing, fu**s with the wrong people…” And what bout the mistreatment of women in this film? “I’m not a feminist,” she quickly replies. “I actually like people opening the door for me.” Fair enough. There’s is little more to say to describe this interview with words. Might as well click the button and hear how refreshing and punk it is. Only be warned – this is NOT one for the easily offended.

THE DAYS THAT CONFUSED: Allar, 27, and his friends spend their lives in their Estonian small town goofing off, getting drunk, and driving as if there’s no tomorrow. When one of their outings ends in an accident, Allar begins to reflect on his life. The quest to find meaning, however, is full of twists and turns… With the help of bold music and visuals, the debuting Estonian director takes the viewer on a dynamic ride through the wild nineties, while also following the struggles of a searching mind.

Teaser – The Days That Confused from Kinosaurus Film on Vimeo.

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PODCAST | Matt Micucci interviews Petr Kazda, co-director of the film I, Olga Hepnarová from the 51st Karlovy Vary International Film Festival

“This is my verdict. I, Olga Hepnarová, a victim of your brutality, sentence you to death by vehicle.” These are the haunting words written by a young woman, Olga Hepnarova, before running over a crowd of random people walking down a street, with a truck. The haunting story, which took place in Prague, then Czechoslovakia, in 1973, is the starting point with which directors Petr Kazda and Tomas Weinreb imagined the reasons behind such a senseless and famous act of everyday terrorism.

We caught up with Kazda, who screened the film I, Olga Hepnarova as part of a section dedicated to some of the best titled Czech cinema had to offer over this past year.

We had a chance to talk about why he believes this particular story still resonates with present times. We also asked him about his collaboration with the lead actress, who dominates the action on-screen, and the director even tells us why the choice of casting Michalina Olszanska, a Polish actress playing a Czech female, made so much sense. In addition, we also talk about the specific style, such as the use of black and white and mostly still camerawork, as well as the challenges of constructing a story around an anti-hero, compared to a character that is meant to be liked and admired by the audience, and a female anti-hero at that.

I, OLGA HEPNAROVA: Normalization-era Prague, July 10, 1973. A 22-year-old woman by the name of Olga Hepnarova borrows a Praga truck and heads for the tram stop at Strossmayer Square. Once there, she steps on the gas and slams into a group of 30 people, killing eight. She later admits to the mass murder, explaining that she was punishing a heartless society for tormenting her. Two years later she was hanged, the last woman to be executed in Czechoslovakia. Just as she had wanted. In their debut picture, without glossing over the guilt for a brutal crime, directors Tomas Weinreb and Petr Kazda focus in on several key years and moments in the life of a lonely person. The dark and dispassionate drama, composed in part from long, carefully constructed shots, features a powerful performance by Polish actress Michalina Olszanska, whose Hepnarova is just as inscrutable as her act. Premiered at Berlin, this black-and-white film is one of the strongest Czech entries of the year.

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PODCAST | Matt Micucci interviews Vitaly Mansky, director of Under the Sun from the 51st Karlovy Vary International Film Festival.

No country shuts off its borders quite like North Korea. The footage, information and news from North Korea is rare and enigmatic. What veteran filmmaker Vitaly Mansky did in his documentary Under the Sun was to try and exploit his Russian origins to make a documentary about everyday life in North Korea, a feat made possible by the fact that Russia, along with China, is one of only two countries with which North Korea has international relations. Nevertheless, the restrictions imposed upon the filmmaker were evident from the beginning – the film was in its planning stage a year prior to the beginning of shooting.

In the end, the filming of Under the Sun was far more enlightening that the sometimes absurd artificiality of the images being shot themselves. In this interview with Mansky, we ask the director about these restrictions and how they shaped the final film. We also ask him, somewhat inevitably, what the reaction from North Korea has been, as well as from other parts of the world. It seems like North Korea, predictably, wanted the film to have been destroyed initially. But then an even stranger development occurred…

UNDER THE SUN: The renowned documentarist gets the go-ahead to record the life of an ordinary North Korean family. To what extent will he be able to observe what goes on behind the screen of pervasive communist ideology? Unique footage that probes deep into one of the most heavily guarded places on Earth.

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