FRED Film Radio - English Channel

Josh Mond – filmmaker – James White

Director Josh Mond talks about his movie “James White”, covering topics such as the casting of the main protagonist, the impact New York City has on the movie dynamics, the theme and estethics of his first feature film

JAMES WHITE: James White is a troubled twenty something trying to stay afloat in a frenzied New York City. As he retreats further into a hedonistic lifestyle, his mother’s battle with a serious illness faces a series of setbacks that force him to assume more responsibility.

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Sebastian Buttny – programme coordinator / director – Films For Kids.Pro / Heavy Mental

FRED’s Matt Micucci meets filmmaker Sebastian Buttny, who is a programme coordinator of the Films for Kids.Pro, at the 15th T-Mobile New Horizons International Film Festival.

We talk with Sebastian about the aims and goals of this project, which seeks to mentor groups of filmmakers with ideas for films for a school project, help them develop a script and then prepare them for the final pitch that takes place during the course of the festival. He gives us a brief overview of the project, his impressions based on the quality standards of the original idea and also tells us about what he thinks is the current state of this particular type of films aimed at a younger audience, with a focus on his home country of Poland.

But on top of talking about Films For Kids.Pro, we also take the opportunity to talk with him about his own film HEAVY MENTAL, which premiered in 2013, and is screened here at the festival. This was his first feature. He talks to us about it and about how a lot of the inspiration for the story came from his own life, and how he sought to make a genuine representation of people from his own generation by allowing it to be defined by a sense of humour.

FILMS FOR KIDS.Pro is the first program in Europe dedicated solely to the development of films for young audiences. Our goal is to support the production of ambitious movies for children aged 5-12 years, based on the highest artistic and production standards of European, and in particular Norwegian, cinema. We will work on ideas brought by participants and develop them from a short synopsis through first draft to a second draft of the screenplay (approximately 90-pages long). In parallel we will work with their respective producers on a strategy for financing, promoting and distributing those movies. All elements of the program are focused specifically on cinema for children. More information: www.filmsforkidspro.eu Supported by a grant from Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway through the EEA Grants and co-financed by the Polish funds. Participation in the whole program is free of charge (tutoring, lectures, transportation, accommodation and board, and also participation in f ilm festival screenings).

HEAVY MENTAL: A story about thirty-somethings under the pressure of modern times. Mariusz, undergoing fruitless psychotherapy for a year, is suffering from a creative block-he forgets his lines while performing on stage in front of an audience. Piotr, a caretaker at a nursing home, has a much bigger problem. Abandoned by their families, his patients have been leaving him their homes. When he inherits an apartment from Mariusz’s grandfather, he decides to make a deal with the actor: he will give him the apartment if Mariusz helps him pick up a particular girl. In praising mediocrity, Sebastian Buttny‘s bro comedy is a bittersweet tribute to all those who have run out of gas in their pursuit of success. Modeled on independent American cinema, the director uses some unusual devices to discuss the struggle with ordinariness, such as a wise fairy hiding in the ventilation system, a Japanese monodrama, and a televised archery course.

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Endre Lund Eriksen – screenplay – The Monsters of Dunderly (FILMS FOR KIDS.Pro)

FRED’s Matt Micucci talks with screenwriter Endre Lund Eriksen, who along with producer Merete Korsberg Dalsbo worked on the development of The Monsters of Dunderly at the Films For Kids.Pro project.

We interview him at the 15th T-Mobile New Horizons International Film Festival, the day before the final pitch. He tells us about his project, The Monsters of Dunderly, which he worked on adapting from his own novel, therefore we ask him about the challenges of adaptation.

We also ask him to give us an overall overview of the project and the situation regarding films for a young audience in Norway, a country that has set the example of how films for a young audience can be quite successful at the box office.

“FILMS FOR KIDS.Pro is the first program in Europe dedicated solely to the development of films for young audiences.

Our goal is to support the production of ambitious movies for children aged 5-12 years, based on the highest artistic and production standards of European, and in particular Norwegian, cinema. We will work on ideas brought by participants and develop them from a short synopsis through first draft to a second draft of the screenplay (approximately 90-pages long).

In parallel we will work with their respective producers on a strategy for financing, promoting and distributing those movies. All elements of the program are focused specifically on cinema for children. More information: www.filmsforkidspro.eu Supported by a grant from Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway through the EEA Grants and co-financed by the Polish funds. Participation in the whole program is free of charge (tutoring, lectures, transportation, accommodation and board, and also participation in film festival screenings).”

THE MONSTERS OF DUNDERLY: The protagonist of the story, Bulder, is a wild and funny monster living in Dunderly, a secret hideout far up in the mountains where a lot different monsters live together, safe from human beings. Their only connection with the outside world is an elevator, which is used to receive supplies and letters from other monsters. One day a new monster called Mons Monster arrives at Dunderly. This situation brings about changes in the monster village. The Monster of Dunderly is an adaptation of a very successful children’s novel created by Endre Lund Eriksen (author) and Endre Skandfer (illustrator)”

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Philip LaZebnik – tutor – FILMS FOR KIDS.Pro

FRED’s Matt Micucci interviews Philip LaZebnik, one of the tutors of FILMS FOR KIDS.Pro, a program dedicated solely to the development of films dedicated to a young audiences, from the T-Mobile New Horizons International Film Festival.

He talks to us about how he worked on this role, and gives us an overview of his tasks and activities. Being an experienced writer, who has worked extensively with Disney and DreamWorks, we also take this opportunity to discuss with him the current state of cinema for a young audiences, the problems with financiers backing such projects, the unfounded prejudices of filmmaking who view films for a young audiences as second rate, and he even pinpoints a reoccurring flaw that often marks such films.

Philip also talks about the writing process and the importance of the story, the true secret weapon that a film has to compete in a market largely dominated in Europe by American cinema and studio giants.

“FILMS FOR KIDS.Pro is the first program in Europe dedicated solely to the development of films for young audiences. Our goal is to support the production of ambitious movies for children aged 5-12 years, based on the highest artistic and production standards of European, and in particular Norwegian, cinema. We will work on ideas brought by participants and develop them from a short synopsis through first draft to a second draft of the screenplay (approximately 90-pages long). In parallel we will work with their respective producers on a strategy for financing, promoting and distributing those movies. All elements of the program are focused specifically on cinema for children. More information: www.filmsforkidspro.eu Supported by a grant from Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway through the EEA Grants and co-financed by the Polish funds. Participation in the whole program is free of charge (tutoring, lectures, transportation, accommodation and board, and also participation in film festival screenings).”

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Maciej Jakubczyk – head of education and distribution – New Hosizons Association

FRED’s Matt Micucci talks to Maciej Jakubczyk, head of education and distribution of the New Horizons Academy, from the 15th T-Mobile New Horizons International Film Festival. We particularly discuss with him two exciting projects that are taking place at the festival – Film For Kids.Pro and the New Horizons Summer Academy.

But he also gives us a brief and yet very insightful overview of other activities and projects organised and promoted by the New Horizons Association that aim to promote film culture to a young audience, highlighting its possible resulting benefits and talking with us about the current state of the production of films aimed at such a target audience.

“FILMS FOR KIDS.Pro is the first program in Europe dedicated solely to the development of films for young audiences. Our goal is to support the production of ambitious movies for children aged 5-12 years, based on the highest artistic and production standards of European, and in particular Norwegian, cinema. We will work on ideas brought by participants and develop them from a short synopsis through first draft to a second draft of the screenplay (approximately 90-pages long). In parallel we will work with their respective producers on a strategy for financing, promoting and distributing those movies. All elements of the program are focused specifically on cinema for children. More information: www.filmsforkidspro.eu Supported by a grant from Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway through the EEA Grants and co-financed by the Polish funds. Participation in the whole program is free of charge (tutoring, lectures, transportation, accommodation and board, and also participation in film festival screenings).”

NEW HORIZONS SUMMER ACADEMY: T-MOBILE NEW HORIZONS International Film Festival in Wroclaw presents the work of cinema visionaries, uncompromising artists who have the courage to forge their own path regardless of prevailing fads, and to tackle key issues using their own unique language. During the festival, teachers and cultural mangers from all over Poland can participate in film workshops designed especially for them – the New Horizons Summer Academy. After T-MOBILE NEW HORIZONS festival finishes, the most interesting films are screened in selected Polish cities as part of the New Horizons Tournée, and then are released for distribution. FILM FOR KIDS.PRO

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Agnieszka Koperniak – curator – Animation workshop of the New Horizons Summer Academy and Films for Children section of the T-Mobile New Horizons International Film Festival

FRED’s Matt Micucci interviews Agnieszka Koperniak from the T-Mobile New Horizons International Film Festival. She is here filling two very important role – that of the curator of the FILMS FOR CHILDREN section, and as the coordinator of the stop motion animation workshop of the New Horizons Summer Academy, which teaches school teachers about filmmaking in an intensive course.

As an expert in the field, not only of animation filmmaking but also family films in general, we ask her about her opinion of the current state of this type of filmmaking genre and what benefits could result if this were to be given enough attention.

NEW HORIZONS SUMMER ACADEMY: T-MOBILE NEW HORIZONS International Film Festival in Wroclaw presents the work of cinema visionaries, uncompromising artists who have the courage to forge their own path regardless of prevailing fads, and to tackle key issues using their own unique language. During the festival, teachers and cultural mangers from all over Poland can participate in film workshops designed especially for them – the New Horizons Summer Academy. After T-MOBILE NEW HORIZONS festival finishes, the most interesting films are screened in selected Polish cities as part of the New Horizons Tournee, and then are released for distribution.

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Ulrikke Benestad – screenwriter – The Plastic Soldier (FILMS FOR KIDS.Pro)

FRED’s Matt Micucci meets Norwegian scriptwriter Ulrikke Benestad, one of the participants of the Film For Kids.Pro project, which comes to an end with the pitching sessions that are taking place at the 15th T-Mobile New Horizons International Film Festival.

Film For Kids.Pro is a project that is solely dedicated to the development of films aimed at a young audience. Ulrikke talks with us about her project – A PLASTIC SOLDIER. She talks about its story, where the inspiration for the story came from but also her background in theatre and acting, and the differences between those two artforms.

She then gives us an overview of the journey undertaken throughout Film For Kids.Pro, the help she received for the mentors and the challenges she encountered along the way.

“FILMS FOR KIDS.Pro is the first program in Europe dedicated solely to the development of films for young audiences. Our goal is to support the production of ambitious movies for children aged 5-12 years, based on the highest artistic and production standards of European, and in particular Norwegian, cinema.

We will work on ideas brought by participants and develop them from a short synopsis through first draft to a second draft of the screenplay (approximately 90-pages long). In parallel we will work with their respective producers on a strategy for financing, promoting and distributing those movies. All elements of the program are focused specifically on cinema for children.

More information: www.filmsforkidspro.eu Supported by a grant from Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway through the EEA Grants and co-financed by the Polish funds. Participation in the whole program is free of charge (tutoring, lectures, transportation, accommodation and board, and also participation in film festival screenings).”

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Izabela Wyppich – participating teacher – New Horizons Summer Academy

FRED’s Matt Micucci interviews Izabela Wyppich, school teacher who participated in this year’s edition of the New Horizons Summer Academy at the 15th New Horizons International Film Festival.

The Summer Academy is a programme that aims to instruct teachers in the art of filmmaking, with the hope that they will one day be able to pass on their new found knowledge to their pupils and students. But Izabela is now a veteran of the programme, having been an attendee at the festival for ten years. She hence tells us that she has learnt a lot through the programme and shares with us her experience of discovering something new – archive documentary, which is what she chose to undertake this time around.

We then reflect upon this very organic form of documentary filmmaking as a great possible activity that could be included in the school programme and the many benefits of film education in general.

NEW HORIZONS SUMMER ACADEMY: T-MOBILE NEW HORIZONS International Film Festival in Wroclaw presents the work of cinema visionaries, uncompromising artists who have the courage to forge their own path regardless of prevailing fads, and to tackle key issues using their own unique language. During the festival, teachers and cultural mangers from all over Poland can participate in film workshops designed especially for them – the New Horizons Summer Academy. After T-MOBILE NEW HORIZONS festival finishes, the most interesting films are screened in selected Polish cities as part of the New Horizons Tournee, and then are released for distribution.

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Kirsten Bonnén Rask – Tutor and partner – FILMS FOR KIDS.Pro

FRED’s Matt Micucci meets Kirsten Bonnen Rask, general manager of the Norwegian Somorsk Filmsenter, writer and educator.

We interview her as the main international partner of the Film For Kids.Pro in its inaugural edition in Poland, that culminates with the pitching session which takes place during the course of the New Horizons International Film Festival. We also interview her in her role as a tutor.

She tells us about the challenges of getting financial backing for making the ambitious project a reality, and provides us with an overview of how the project worked.

On top of this, Kirsten examines the current state of cinema for a young audience, and mentions the opposite states of filmmaking for such an audience in the two countries of the projects – Poland and Norway.

FILMS FOR KIDS.Pro: The first program in Europe dedicated solely to the development of films for young audiences.

Our goal is to support the production of ambitious movies for children aged 5-12 years, based on the highest artistic and production standards of European, and in particular Norwegian, cinema.

We will work on ideas brought by participants and develop them from a short synopsis through first draft to a second draft of the screenplay (approximately 90-pages long). In parallel we will work with their respective producers on a strategy for financing, promoting and distributing those movies. All elements of the program are focused specifically on cinema for children.

More information: www.filmsforkidspro.eu Supported by a grant from Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway through the EEA Grants and co-financed by the Polish funds. Participation in the whole program is free of charge (tutoring, lectures, transportation, accommodation and board, and also participation in film festival screenings).

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Monika Palka – participating teacher – New Horizons Summer Academy

FRED’s Matt Micucci interviews Monika Palka, a school teacher and one of the participants of the New Horizons Film Academy, which takes place annually at the T-Mobile New Horizons International Film Festival.

Monika shares with us her thoughts and experiences of learning about filmmaking during this intensive course, in which teachers from Polish schools learn about the art of making films. She also reflects upon the importance of the Summer Academy in the optic of promoting the importance of including film in the school program, and the benefits that could results from young students being involved in filmmaking activities.

NEW HORIZONS SUMMER ACADEMY: T-MOBILE NEW HORIZONS International Film Festival in Wroclaw presents the work of cinema visionaries, uncompromising artists who have the courage to forge their own path regardless of prevailing fads, and to tackle key issues using their own unique language. During the festival, teachers and cultural mangers from all over Poland can participate in film workshops designed especially for them – the New Horizons Summer Academy. After T-MOBILE NEW HORIZONS festival finishes, the most interesting films are screened in selected Polish cities as part of the New Horizons Tournee, and then are released for distribution.

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