FRED Film Radio - English Channel

Denis Côté comes back to Berlinale , this time with a documentary film about a man, “Paul“, who decides after many years of depression, of  hiding himself and not being in the outside world, to try a new version of interaction: becoming a simp, a kind of slave for young women whom he does free cleaning  for. This is the beginning of a new life and a good motivation ofr the director to observe the peculiar life of Paul.

Denis Côté decided to just observe, making “Paul” a non-judgmental film, letting us into the life of this man, whose life is lonely and peculiar, in the moment when he is trying his way out of a shell he forced himself into years ago.Denis Côté does not care how Paul chooses to do that, his choices are his and he is just peeking into this world from outside, like a passenger.

Denis Côté tells us that it has been complicated to convince Paul to let himself and his life filmed: Paul did not talk to man, any man, he was shy and did not like being in company of men. This obstacle was overcome, Paul developed a genuine love with the camera and his ego blossomed transforming his shyness in boldness.

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“The good Sister“, the feature film directed by Sarah Miro Fischer, included in the panorama section of the Berlinale 75 is an unusual take on the issue of sexual violence, seen form the point of view of the sister of the perpetrator. Starting form a personal experience of violence, Sarah Miro Fischer narrates the fade-out of the other and sister relationship under the weight of an accusation of rape.

Sarah Miro Fischer in “The Good Sister” uses all the singular aspects of a brother-sister relationship to underline the gravity of what the brother did related to the effects of the change of perception of himself that the sister has to go through and manage: Finding herself all of a sudden facing a person she does not recognise and not knowing what to do.

The post “The Good Sister” , interview with the director Sarah Miro Fischer appeared first on Fred Film Radio.

From February 27th, 2025, the Helen Fielding books’eroine Bridget Jones will come back to cinemas with Universal Pictures for a final chapter: Bridget Jones – Mad about the boy.

Two-time Academy Award® winner Renée Zellweger returns to the role that established a romantic-comedy heroine for the ages, a woman whose inimitable approach to life and love redefined an entire film genre.   

Renée Zellweger with director Michael Morris and the new entries in the saga, Oscar® nominee Chiwetel Ejiofor and White Lotus’s Leo Woodall arrived in Rome earlier this February to introduce the film to the italian audience. 

When asked about the secret of Bridget Jones’success, Renée Zellweger answered: “Bridget is inspirational because no matter how difficult it is, how imperfect she feels and how far the gap between her and her perception of herself, she still triumphs and never gives up”.

The post “Bridget Jones – Mad about the boy”, interview with director Michael Morris and actors Renée Zellweger, Chiwetel Ejiofor and Leo Woodall appeared first on Fred Film Radio.

At the 75th Berlinale, director Huo Meng captivated audiences with “Living the Land”, a poignant and visually stunning portrait of rural China on the brink of transformation. The film, which won the Silver Bear for Best Director, delicately explores the impact of modernization on traditional life, following a young boy left behind as his parents seek work in the city.

Rather than focusing on the future, “Living the Land” turns its gaze to the past, capturing a world in transition. Huo Meng’s producer and interpreter, Zhang Fan, explains, translating the director’s words, that the film’s narrative is like a photograph: “You see thousands of years of agricultural society, and at that very specific point, things started to change, leading into a new future.”

The film’s cinematography is breathtaking, with frames reminiscent of oil paintings. This was an intentional choice to reflect the warmth of rural life in contrast to the cold, industrialized future. “The industrial sense is cold and freezing, but nature is warm,” Zhang Fan explains on behalf of Huo Meng.

While the film portrays a way of life that seems to be disappearing, Huo Meng believes that traditions still endure in meaningful ways. An example from real life: during Chinese New Year, a funeral in a village caused many returning workers to postpone their departure, honouring long-held customs of respect and community.

With its observational style, “Living the Land” often feels like a documentary. The director’s approach blends scripted storytelling with real-life traditions, capturing the emotional depth of daily life—from cooking to sewing quilts, each action filled with meaning. “Daily life itself is full of emotions,” says Zhang Fan, translating Huo Meng.

“Living the Land” is a moving reflection on family, memory, and the resilience of tradition. Through poetic visuals and intimate storytelling, Huo Meng invites us to witness a world in flux—one where the past and future exist in delicate balance.

The post “Living the Land”: Interview with Director Huo Meng appeared first on Fred Film Radio.

Liryc Dela Cruz is at the 75th Berlinale with his directorial debut feature “When the night stands still – Come la notte“. 

The film, set in Italy is a co-production between Italy and the Philippines and it follows three Filipino siblings, all domestic workers in Italy, reunite in their older sister Lilia’s inherited villa.

The idea came to Dela Cruz as he proceeded to mix up all the tales he heard from friends in Italy and turn those stories into a film. 

While depicting the dynamics and interactions between these three siblings, Dela Cruz’s idea was to explore, on a very deep and personal level, the silent corrosive legacy that colonialism has left on the Filipino psyche.

Founder of “Il Mio filippino collective“, when asked if he feels more italian or philippine, Dela Cruz admits to feel both and that, despite all its contradictions and often racism, he still feels very connected to Italy as his land. 

The post “When the night stands still”, interview with director Liryc Dela Cruz appeared first on Fred Film Radio.

The Light by Tom Tykwer is the opening film of the 75th Berlin International film festival. 

Screening in Berlinale Special, the film sees Lars Eidinger and Nicolette Krebitz as a couple and parents of teenagers struggling as a dysfunctional family with their contradictions. 

Lars Eidinger confesses that he knew before starting to work on the film that his character  was actually inspired by Tom Tykwer himself, as a sort of an alter ego of the german director. 

Nicolette Krebitz describes  her experience in the team effort that was the film and how they all worked at making their characters as real as possible.

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German director Tom Tykwer has opened the 75th Berlin International film festival with his new film The Light

Screening in Berlinale Special, the film marks the director’s comeback to stories sent in our present time. 

Indeed, Tykwer spent the last decade working on Babylon Berlin so he was now ready for a story of a modern day dysfunctional family. 

Composed by father (Lars Eidinger), mother (Nicolette Krebitz ) and twin brothers Elke Biesendorfer and Julius Gause, the film follow their journey into understanding the enormous contradictions they live profoundly in. 

In its way of talking about today’s world, the film is very political and therefore, perfect to open the Berlinale which is and it always will be a “political “ festival or, to quote its director Tricia Tuttle, “an act of resistance”. 

The post “The Light”, interview with director Tom Tykwer appeared first on Fred Film Radio.

Florian Pochaktlo‘s surprising first feature film “How To Be Normal and The Oddness of The Other World” had its premiere at the Berlin International Film Festival, in the Perspective section. The definitely personal and multi-layered take on mental health is narrated through the character of Pia, a young woman just released from a mental care facilities who tries to enter the “normal” world , the other world for her.

Florian Pochatklo  asks this universal question , as a foundation of his film “How To Be Normal and The Oddness of The Other World” : who has the right in our contemporary world to define and declare what is normal? With this question in mind the world of Pia, the lead character of the film, is a series of invalid answers to this same question, while she tries to navigate her return to the “other” world, the one of so-called normal people.

Florian Pochatklo chooses an aesthetic approach that is mixed and almost schizophrenic, in terms of formats and framing and editing, both on the images and the audio. This is a mirror to Pia’s perception of the world outside that pretty often is clearer and more honest that the one regular people want to admit.

The post “How to Be Normal and The Oddness of The Other World”, interview with the director Florian Pochatklo appeared first on Fred Film Radio.

“Mad Bills To Pay” by Joel Alfonso Vargas is a realist social drama on a Latino family in the Bronx. there is a lot of personal memories in the film, as the director comes form Bronx and inevitably the neighbourhood becomes another lead character of the movie. We met with the director on the day of the film’s premiere in the Perspective programme in the Berlin International Film Festival.

One of the aims of Joel Alfonso Vargas in making “Mad Bills To Pay” was the realism, in order to get that he decided to cast also on professional actors form the Bronx. Casting was very successful and the chosen people were so natural and at ease not to show their minor acting skills. The rehearsals were long and  they are all perfectly integrated in the film.

The way “Mad Bills To Pay” is shot is through use of wide angles, some static wide shots from a distance, to give the audience the idea of the world the characters live in and also to open a peek in that life for an audience that sometimes feels to be in a real-life show more than in a fiction.

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Ten years after “Boyhood”, Richard Linklater has brought back to Berlin a new collaboration with long-time friend and collaborator Ethan Hawke: “Blue Moon”

In competition at the 75th edition of the Berlinale, the film follows a very important and pivotal night in the life of legendary lyricist Lorenz Hart where he had to participate in his former collaborator Richard Rodgers success for his round-breaking hit Oklahoma! – 

To enter the special world of Richard Linklater, where stream of consciousness and flowing words are essential, two new entries: Andrew Scott and Margaret Qualley. 

Andrew Scott  (All Of Us Strangers, Fleabag), who plays Richard Rodgers, confirms that he perceived the film as one about friendship and “the enormous relationships that you build up within the theatre and within the movies. That is the beating heart of the script”. 

Margaret Qualley (The Substance, Kinds of Kindness) plays Elizabeth – the object of Hart’s affection and whose letters with Lorenz Hart were the material which inspired Linklater and screenwriter Robert Kaplow to make the film. 

She confesses that working with Linklater and Hawke had always been a dream for her as she’s a huge fan of their collective work. 

The post “Blue Moon”, interview with actors Margaret Qualley and Andrew Scott appeared first on Fred Film Radio.