FRED Film Radio - English Channel

Philippe Lesage‘s “Who By Fire” is one the films included in the Generation14plus section, at the 74th Berlin Film Festival. Continuing to deal with the issues he took on in his previous film, he goes further on with his analysis of the toxicity of adults towards the younger generation, and the egotism and self-reference that grown-ups always perform.

“Who By Fire” is a very dense film, with an important length that Philippe Lesage uses to build up the tension of the plot towards the violent disenchantment of the young protagonist Jeff. The intensity of the film is its strength, and the length is not an issue, once you let yourself flow into the narrative.

Many are the references that Philippe Lesage mentions in our talk, concerning the look and the location of the film. To name one, “Deliverance“, the  1972 John Boorman film, is the most important, as here in “Who By Fire” nature is all around the characters and it is not a welcoming one, it cannot care less about the petty problems of those people. And this is daunting and fascinating.

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Meryam Joobeur comes to the 74th Berlin International Film Festival presenting  her film “Who do I belong to” in the Official Competition. The film a gorgeously shot tale about a mother who is forced to face the truth on her son, in a secluded village in the north of Tunisia.

The germ for “Who do I belong to” was planted in a short film Meryam Joobeur did in 2018, shot in the same area, with some of the same non-professional actors. For the feature film, her point of view  changes , focusing on the woman, on the mother and her life, dealing with her role in that society and her personality and will.

As in many recent films, identity is a central issue in “Who do I belong to“, once we cannot define ourselves anymore by what we think we are, what our society and social milieu wants us to be, we lose track and we have to rebuild. This is what happens to the lead character, to Aicha, and she becomes a new person through pain and sorrow.

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Juliana Rojas presents her new film “Cidade; Campo” at the 74th Berlin International Film Festival. The film narrates two separate stories, like two films in one, linked by a common theme: migration. Two opposite paths, one from the countryside to the city, and the other reversed from city to countryside, that involve common issues as family ties, grief, work relations and love.

One of the goals of “Cidade; Campo” is to confront the essence of modern city life, the materialistic approach that our culture has forced on us, with the existentialistic approach to life that living in the nature , with te rougher and tougher rhythm of country life, involves.

To enhance this difference, Julian Rojas decided to include in the second story of  “Cidade; Campo” an element of supernatural, inspired to the ghost stories she loves. this is why the country side part has also a different look, and narrative pace.

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During the 74th Berlinale International Film Festival, Mamadou Dia, the director of “Demba,” featured in the Encounters section, shared insights into his deeply personal and thought-provoking film. In this interview, Dia delves into the inspirations behind the film, the significance of its setting, and the profound themes of grief and mental health.

Mamadou Dia revealed that the inception of “Demba” stemmed from a personal exploration of grief prompted by his experiences during therapy sessions amidst the COVID-19 pandemic. Reflecting on his struggles with loss and depression, Dia sought to understand how societies without a specific term for “depression” cope with mental health issues, thus laying the foundation for “Demba.”

Set in Matam, Mamadou Dia‘s hometown in Senegal, “Demba” holds a deeply personal connection for the director. Dia explained that filming in Matam provided a sense of familiarity and authenticity, allowing the cast and crew to navigate the story’s emotional terrain easily. Moreover, employing local actors and collaborating closely with the community added depth and realism to the narrative.

Central to “Demba” is the poignant relationship between the titular character and his son. Mamadou Dia elucidated the complexities of their bond, emphasizing how the film delves into themes of belonging, estrangement, and role reversal, where children become caregivers to their parents. “Demba” portrays the universal healing journey amidst grief through these dynamics.

The director discussed the intricate visual choices in “Demba”, mainly using colours, mirrors, and blurred imagery to depict the protagonist’s internal struggles. Collaborating closely with cinematographer Sheldon Chau, Mamadou Dia aimed to immerse audiences in Demba’s perspective, capturing the nuances of his emotional journey through subtle yet powerful visual cues.

With “Demba”, Mamadou Dia seeks to initiate vital conversations about mental health, particularly in societies where such discussions remain taboo. Drawing from his own experiences of depression, Dia underscores the importance of destigmatizing mental illness and fostering a supportive environment for those in need of help.

Through its raw emotional resonance and profound thematic exploration, “Demba” invites audiences to confront the complexities of grief, healing, and the universal quest for understanding amidst adversity.

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Bruce la Bruce comes back to Berlinale with his latest film, “The Visitor“, included in the Panorama section. The film is an art piece, a provocative tale, a new rendition of Pasolini’s Teorema, a new exploration on sexual liberation.

The idea of “The Visitor” comes from the consideration on how modern and contemporary Pasolini still is. His view on power in sexual relationships lead bruce la bruce to this film, and he is wondering which sensual movies Pasolini could have done if he was still alive.

“The Visitor” was born as an art piece, that blossomed into a film, with influences on social issues. The stranger form Teorema becomes a migrant, a black mana, with all the political and social and sexual implications that this choice brings in a bourgeois family, that has lost sight of reality.

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“I want the questions of the film to be answered” says Renate Reinsve, in the cast of Piero Messina’s “Another End“, in competition at the 74th Berlinale. The film is set in an unidentified city of a possibile future where a new technology promises to ease the pain of separation by briefly bringing back to life the consciousness of those who have died, thanks to compatible host bodies. The actress who became internationally renowned with the protagonist role in “The Worst“, “Person in the World” by Joachim Trier, plays Ava, whose body is hosting the consciousness of Zoe, Sal (Gael Garcia Bernal)’s wife, recently dead after a car accident.

Looking at the film by her two characters’ point of view, Renate Reinsve confirms that “Another End” is for her both about grief, mourning and about love. As Piero Messina says, “Another End” is indeed a love story, a sci-fi one, which leads us to wonder: What makes us, us? memories? the people we love?

Renate Reinsve is also in competition at the 74th Berlinale with another film, “A Different Man” by Aaron Schimberg, playing alongside Sebastian Stan.

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For his first feature film, “The Wait“, presented at the Venice Film Festival in 2015, sicilian director Piero Messina chose an international actress Juliette Binoche, as his protagonist. For his second feature, almost 10 years later, “Another End“, in competition at the 74Th Berlinale, he could again count on a stellar international cast composed by Gael Garcia Bernal, Bérénice Bejo, Renate Reinsve and Olivia Williams.

Bernal and Bejo play two brothers in an unidentified city of a possibile future where a new technology promises to ease the pain of separation by briefly bringing back to life the consciousness of those who have died. With the help of his sister, working for the company owning the technology, Bernal’s character, Sal, gets his wife Zoe to come back in the body of a compatible host, Ava (Renate Reinsve).

Messina’s new film is a love story, a story about grief, mourning and leaves us with an unanswered question and a lot of big questions: What makes us, us? memories? the people we love? What do we fall in love with when we meet a person?

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“Betania” is the first narrative feature by Marcelo Botta, included in the Panorama section at the 74th Berlin International Film Festival. Nature and sustainability are the key words to describe the story of a 65 years old woman who has to relocate in a nearby area in Brazil, after her village has been flooded.

Marcelo Botta has an urgency to share: “we need to be more aware of nature and its changes. Some are already irreversible but we still have room to do something. That’s why in”Betânia” the dunes land shifts and changes so much: it is a symbol for the message he wants to convey”.

“Betânia” is filled with musics, music is the motor for Botta‘s creativity and it describes better the region where the film is shot, north of brazil close to Jamaica and the Carribean. He also created a song himself specifically for the film, as an impulse of the last moment, as he tells us proudly.

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Anthony Shatteman‘s “Young Hearts” is a sweet fairytale of a love story between two preadolescent kids, in contemporary belhium. In our talk, we discover the creative and personal motivations behind the film, and the surprise for the reception to the presentation, here at the Berlinale, where it screened in the Generation section.

“Young Hearts” is the film I would have loved to see when I was a kid, says Anthony Shatteman about the importance for him of its film. he wrote it with in mind his childhood and his parents, and the effects that such a sweet film could have on younger audience who can relate more to the narrative.

When pitching the film, Anthony Shatteman was surprised to get so positive feedback about “Young Hearts“, and especially being praised to do the film, as people needed to be pampered and pleased by a feel good story. So now that audiences love the film so much, he is not that surprised anymore…

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L’italia è Guest è ” Country In Focus” alla edizione 2024 dello European Film market. Incontriamo Roberto Stabile, responsabile dei Progetti Speciali della DGCA del MiC presso Cinecittà, per parlare della presenza italiana, delle attività che questa presenza ha comportato all’interno del programma del mercato berlinese, e di come si sviluppa l’azione del Ministero della Cultura per il comparto cinema, sia dal punto di vista della diffusione che degli aiuti finanziari alle produzioni, italiane e straniere.

La presenza italiana allo European Film Market si è sviluppata sia sotto il punto di vista delle presenze fisiche (operatori, stand e accreditati), sia sul numero dei film presentati al mercato, oltre che nelle sezioni ufficiali, e anche con la  presenza di key speakers italiani in tutti i panel e le conferenze in programma.

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