FRED Film Radio - English Channel

Brady Corbet (Filmmaker) and Mona Fastvold (Screenwriter) – The Childhood of a Lead

FRED’s Matt Micucci interviews director Brady Corbet and screenwriter Mona Fastvold on the film THE CHILDHOOD OF A LEADER, which they presented in the ORIZZONTI section of the 72nd Venice Film Festival. The film is a very ambitious and arduous project, and the two tell us about what they went through in order to get this very powerful vision together. They also mention the many influences from art and history that shaped the final piece, and discuss the stylistic choices as well as their work with the cast.

The Childhood of a Leader: This chilling tale tells the story of an American boy living in France in 1918. His father works for the American government on the creation of the Treaty of Versailles. What he witnesses helps to mould his beliefs – and we see the birth of a terrifying ego. Loosely based on the possible childhoods of many great dictators in the twentieth century, The Childhood of a Leader is an unsettling portrait of emerging evil.

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Kohki Hasei – Director – Blanka

Kohki Hasei visits us in our Venice studio to talk about his latest feature, Blanka, part of the Biennale College project.

Blanka: 11-year-old Blanka lives in the streets of Manila. She has no family and survives by begging and stealing from tourists. One day she stops to watch tv in front of an electronics shop: according to the news program, a famous actress has adopted a child that is now living a happy life. An absurd idea flashes into her mind: perhaps, if she could buy a mother, she could also have a good life – going to school, living in a nice house. But she has to multiply her efforts in order to collect enough money. A new opportunity seems to arise from her meeting with Peter, a 55-year-old blind street musician. Blanka and Peter start to help each other live on the street: the little girl helps Peter collect money from his audience, and the musician teaches Blanka how to sing. Blanka has a beautiful voice and, for the first time in her life, she sees that she has other skills other than stealing. However, Peter is concerned about Blanka’s future on the streets; the wisest thing to do for Blanka would probably be to take her to an orphanage. When Blanka finds out Peter’s intentions, she runs away. So she is back to the starting point: stealing and facing street dangers once again. But when the situation is getting truly critical, Peter appears, just in time to save her.

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Nevina Satta – CEO – Sardinia Film Commission

Fred meets with Nevina Satta, CEO of Sardegna Film Commission and Fred Film Radio dear collaborator. Here we explore the world of film commissions, and of course the fantastic possibilities – and rewards – that can be achieved by shooting in Sardinia.

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Yaelle Kayam – Director – Mountain

FRED has the pleasure of meeting Yaelle Kayam, here in Orizzonti’s official competition with her latest directorial effort, MOUNTAIN.

Mountain: Tzvia lives with her family in the Jewish cemetery of Jerusalem on the Mount of Olives. During the day she is alone, while her husband and sons are at school. She walks in the cemetery trying to escape from her tiring housekeeper duties. During the night, she tries to come closer to her husband, but there’s still a big distance between them. One night she decides to go out and go where she generally spends her days: the cemetery. There she witnesses an unsettling scene: a man and a woman engaging in sexual intercourse on one of the gravestones. Curious about what she saw, she decides to explore this nocturnal, unknown world.

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Frederick Wiseman – Director – In Jackson Heights

FRED’s Matt Micucci interviews one of the most American documentary filmmakers of all time, Frederick Wiseman, who presented his latest masterwork IN JACKSON HEIGHTS out of competition at the 72nd Venice Film Festival – the edition which followed the one in which he was awarded with Venice’s lifetine achievement award.

He talks about Jackson Heights, a neighborhood in New York City defined by many cultural identities, and his distinctively observant style is a way for the viewer to explore the nature of its microcosm. Frederick Wiseman talks to us about the way in which he works and chooses the things to film in order to create an excellent portrayal of his subjects, but also his opinion on the manipulative nature of the documentary form.

IN JACKSON HEIGHTS: Jackson Heights, Queens, New York City is one of the most ethnically and culturally diverse communities in the United States and the world.

There are immigrants from every country in South America, Mexico, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Afghanistan, India and China. Some are citizens, some have green cards, some are without documents. The people who live in Jackson Heights, in their cultural, racial and ethnic diversity, are representative of the new wave of immigrants to America.

Some of the issues the film raises— assimilation, integration, immigration and cultural and religious differences—are common to all the major cities of the Western world. The subject of the film is the daily life of the people in this community—their businesses, community centers, religions, and political, cultural and social lives— and the conflict between maintaining ties to traditions of the countries of origin and the need to learn and adapt to American ways and values.

This is Frederick Wiseman’s third film in a trilogy about communities, the others being Aspen and Belfast, Maine. In these films, as in all his films, he is trying to present a broad and complex portrait of contemporary life.

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Dito Montiel – Filmmaker – Man Down

FRED’s Matt Micucci interviews filmmaker Dito Montiel, whose latest film MAN DOWN was featured in the Orizzonti section of the 72nd Venice Film Festival.

He tells us about where the inspiration for this film came from, and the adaptations of hints to post apocalyptic elements in a story that deals with numerous delicate issues. The film also marks another collaboration between Dito Montiel and actor Shia LeBeouf, and he mentions what their creative collaboration is like.

MAN DOWN: Gabriel Drummer is a 30-year-old marine discharged after a catastrophic error in Afghanistan irreparably changes his life. Gabriel’s counselor, Peyton Calvin, guides him in unraveling the thrilling puzzle of his experience and navigating the unstable boundary between perception and reality.

Viewers are led down a complex labyrinth of hard-hitting psychological twists and turns. Through disturbing foreshadowing of secrets and sustained gripping suspense, Man Down is a spellbinding thriller that spirals towards a shattering revelation which leaves a shocking imprint of a human time bomb left unmined by modern warfare.

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Simon Stone (Director), Odessa Young (Actress) – The Daughter.

FRED’s Matt Micucci interviews filmmaker Simon Stone and actress Odessa Young, here in Venice to present the film THE DAUGHTER, in the official selection of Venice Days, which it will also be closing, at the 72nd Venice Film Festval.

Director Simon Stone talks about how the rural Australian setting shaped this dense family drama, and also about the tricks of keeping a balance in a film with with multiple characters while at the same time allowing an exploration of each of the characters in order to make for a more rewarding exploration of the “human condition”.

Odessa talks about how she became involved in the project and even reveals that she had trouble liking the nature of her character right away, as well as her collaboration with the director in shaping her performance.

THE DAUGHTER: In the last days of a dying logging town, Christian returns to his family home for his father Henry’s wedding to the much younger Anna.

While home, Christian reconnects with his childhood friend Oliver, who has stayed in town working at Henry’s timber mill and is now out of a job. As Christian gets to know Oliver’s wife Charlotte, daughter Hedvig and father Walter, he discovers a secret that could tear Oliver’s family apart. As he tries to right the wrongs of the past, his actions threaten to shatter the lives of those he left behind years before.

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Adriano Valerio – Director – Banat.

Adriano Valerio speaks with Fred after the warm reception of his first feature BANAT, here in the Internation Critics’ Week’s official competition of the 72nd Venice Film Festival.

BANAT: Bari, a city caught in the relentless economic crisis. Ivo is an agronomist, but the lack of opportunities pushes him to accept a job in the fertile region of Banat in Romania.

Clara has just ended a relationship and is about to lose her job at the Bari harbor. Ivo and Clara meet by chance and seem to immediately understand each other. They spend only one night together before Ivo’s departure, but that is enough to create a bond and wanting to meet again. When Clara visit him in Romania, they fall in love. But is exile their only way to happiness?

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Maxim Dashkin (Director), Anna von Dziembowska (Producer) – The Longest Birthday.

FRED’s Angelo Acerbi meets the director and producer of one of the projects pitched at the European Gap Financing Sessions, which took place at the 72nd Venice Film Festival. The project is entitled THE LONGEST BIRTHDAY.

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Renato De Maria – Director – Italian Gangsters.

Fred Film Radio has the pleasure to talk to Renato De Maria, this yes in venice with his experimental and very entertaining film “Italian Gangsters”, competing in the Orizzonti section.

Plot: An original, spectacular journey through the most sensational exploits of the local underworld. Thirty years of violent stories sanctioned by news and films. A gallery of faces, testimonies and period footage. A many-voiced portrayal following the trail of the main exponents of Italian crime that becomes a tumultuous tale of the social transformations that have run through the history of our country.

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