FRED Film Radio - English Channel

Danish actor Claes Bang is at the 75th Berlinale in the cast of the competition film by Johanna Moder: “Mother’s Baby“. 

The actor who gained international recognition for his leading roles in Ruben Östlund‘s film “The Square“ and Robert Eggers‘ film “The Northmann“, plays Dr. Villefort, a gynecologist specialized in couples with fertility issues. 

As the film is deliberately narrated as a psychological thriller, while entering the world of taboos surrounding and what happens when having a child, Bang is either a representation of a certain kind of man, patronizing and the classical villain. 

The actor reflects on these two layers the film plays with and remarks that he chose this film project because of its depiction of the alienation one can feel when becoming a parent. 

The post “Mother’s baby”, interview with actor Claes Bang appeared first on Fred Film Radio.

After presenting “Boyhood” at the Berlinale in 2014 with Richard Linklater, Ethan Hawke is back in Berlin to present their new collaboration “Blue Moon”.

Narrating one night in the life of legendary lyricist Lorenz Hart, the project had been in Linklater and Hawke’s plans for almost 12 years but they had to wait until Ethan Hawke could be and look old enough to play the artist. 

As he leads the whole film, talking for 100 minutes without a pause, Ethan Hawke explains that it all came from rehearsing a lot. 

In the film Lorenz Hart gives a very interesting advice to a young aspiring writer and director (who will turn out to be George Hill): “Beware of romance, friendship is what endures.”

Ethan Hawke admits that is his favorite line as it fully represents the joy of sharing this film and the experience at the Berlinale with his long time friend Richard Linklater. 

The post “Blue Moon”, interview with actor Ethan Hawke appeared first on Fred Film Radio.

On the tenth year’s anniversary of “Boyhood“, Richard Linklater s back in Berlin to present his new film, “Blue Moon“, with his old partner in crime Ethan Hawke.

The project, following the night  legendary lyricist Lorenz Hart had to “celebrate” his former collaborator Richard Rodgers for his ground-breaking hit Oklahoma! , had been in Linklater and Hawke’s plans for almost 12 years.

Brought to the director’s attention by scriptwriter and collaborator Robert Kaplow, the film draws inspiration from letters written between Hart and a young woman, which Kaplow researched for the script. 

In the film Lorenz Hart gives a very interesting advice to a young aspiring director: “Beware of love stories, friendship stories are the ones enduring”. Linklater seems to have followed this advice as “Blue Moon” is both a friendship story and an “artistic” love story.

The post “Blue Moon”, interview with director Richard Linklater appeared first on Fred Film Radio.

Directorial debut by Rebecca Lenkiewicz, “Hot Milk“, is in competition at the 75th Berlinale. 

Distributed by Mubi worldwide, the film is an adaptation of the 2016 novel by Deborah Levy. 

It follows Rose (Fiona Shaw) and her daughter Sofia (Emma Mackey) as they travel to Spain to find a cure for Rose’s mysterious illness. 

The co-dependent relationship between the two is destined to be shaken up as Sofia meets a woman she enters a passionate affair with. 

Fiona Shaw and Emma Mackey discuss their approach to this women’s story which is very universal in its core and reveal how they worked in this film that speaks even more to its audience when words are not involved.

The post “Hot Milk”, interview with actresses Fiona Shaw and Emma Mackey appeared first on Fred Film Radio.

Rebecca Lenkiewicz presents her directorial debut, “Hot Milk“, in competition at the 75th Berlinale.

The film is an adaptation of the 2016 novel by Deborah Levy and it stars Fiona Shaw and Emma Mackey as mother and daughter in a difficult co-dependent relationship.

When asked to write the script for this screen adaptation, Lenkiewicz thought this was the right project to finally make the big step of becoming a director. She told film producers Christine Langan and Kate Glover: “I won’t be able to let this one go, I will adapt it only if I can direct it”. 

In the role of Ingrid, the fascinating independent woman, Mackey’s character Sofia falls for, German actress Vicky Krieps. 

Lenkiewicz and Krieps talk about the project being a women’s story, a project where th most important things are the ones being told without being spelled out. 

Hot Milk will be distributed by Mubi worldwide. 

The post “Hot Milk”, interview with director Rebecca Lenkiewicz and actress Vicky Krieps appeared first on Fred Film Radio.

With his second feature film, “What Marielle Knows“, German director Frédéric Hambalek is in competition at the 75th Berlinale. 

Starring Julia Jentsch and Felix Kramer, the film develops the possible answer to a question: “What would parents do if they were monitored by their kids?” while coming up with the idea of a girl suddenly listening to all her parents thoughts. 

It all came to Hambalek when he first discovered the existence of baby monitors with a camera that could watch their every move. 

“What Marielle Knows” is a film about privacy and its importance especially in this particular moment when we all seem to give it up more and more every day. 

The post “What Marielle knows”, interview with director Frédéric Hambalek appeared first on Fred Film Radio.

Lucile Hadžihalilović  comes to the Berlinale 2025 , in competition, with her new film “The Ice Tower” starring Marion Cotillard. the film is a personal take on Hans Christian Andersen‘s fairy tale The Snow Queen, that was a favourite of the director when she was a kid. With extreme aesthetics and a dark sense of beauty, the film is daring and intriguing. We talked with the director on it and with Marion Cotillard for her portrait of a cold and heartless woman, at least it seems…

Lucile Hadžihalilović reveals that her choice to set “The Ice Tower” in the 70’s came from the need of using some of the simplicity and possibility of belief that was still typical of  those years, when we lived  without internet and social media and cellphones , where we could still believe in the magic of unknown things and iconic personalities.

Marion Cotillard reveals how she built the character of the cold Cristina, in ” The Ice Tower“. Marion invented in her head a detailed back story for her character, that neither the director or anybody else knew, made of failures, pains, victories and losses, so that she had a basket of emotions  to pick from when acting. All of this knowing how dark, and cold and merciless her character needed to be.

The post “The Ice Tower”, interview with the director Lucile Hadžihalilović and the actress Marion Cotillard appeared first on Fred Film Radio.

“Lesbian Space Princess” is a queer animation film, from Australia written, animated and directed by Leela Varghese and Emma Hound Hobbs. we are in a fantastic world of princess, spaceships that talk, queerness and fun, on a quest to save her lover that  Princess Saira undertake with help from some friends. There is a lot to talk about and to laugh about with the two directors we met on the day of their Berlinale premiere.

The reason that brought Leela Varghese and Emma Hound Hobbs to make “Lesbian Space Princess” was the will to fill a void into the world of queer cinema: it has never been a feature animation film so queer and filled with queer references and they wanted to be the first doing that. plus the fun of depicting all the aspects of the queer humor in an animation manga-styled film was an additional motor for both.

The post “Lesbian Space Princess”, interview with the directors Leela Varghese and Emma Hound Hobbs appeared first on Fred Film Radio.

Michel Franco is back at the Berlinale with his new film “Dreams“ .

The film marks the second collaboration with actress and producer Jessica Chastain with whom he realized his previous movie, “Memory“. 

By depicting a love story between a Mexican young dancer (ballet dancer and first time actor Isaac Hernández) and a philanthrope rich American woman played by Chastain, Franco shows his vision on the “wall” separating Mexicans and Americans and the perception of society towards immigrants and, on reverse, the more privileged ones. 

The films shows how the immigrants coming from Latin America (and generally speaking, the whole majority of people going to seek a better life in another country) are perceived as parasites and call criminals when it’s often exactly the opposite: it’s the small percentage of privileged ones that suck other people’s energy. 

“I’m interested in broken people and I don’t judge my characters, not even Jessica Chastain’s” says Michel Franco when talking about the starting point of the film. 

The internationally renowned Mexican director then proceeds to describe his collaboration with Chastain and his discovering ballet dancer and now actor Isaac Fernandez. 

The post “Dreams”, Interview with director Michel Franco appeared first on Fred Film Radio.

“Drømmer (Dreams)” is the third part of the trilogy written  and  directed by Dag Johan Haugerud, showing at Berlinale in the official Competition. This delicate, intelligent and realistic movie closes the trilogy of “Love” and “Sex”; it is the story of the coming of age of a young woman Johanne whose first love for her teacher is upsetting her world. We had a talk with the director and the actress to dig more into the motivations and the uplifting lesson of such a wonderful movie.

Even if “Drømmer (Dreams)” was supposed to be the second and not the third episode of the trilogy, as the director Dag Johan Haugerud told us, still the film holds its force and sense as closing the circle. the reason of the choice of first love , as devastating as it is, and sweet as well, is based on memories of his personal first crush, that is replicated without any melodrama or melancholy, but with the typical sweet and sour taste those moments hold.

In “Drømmer (Dreams)” we have three generations of women, each linked and depending on the others, but with the younger one (Johanne)  being the motor for a reconsideration of their lives and choices by the mother and the grand mother. These women talk, discuss and disagree as well, but there is a strong bond of respect and love.

The post “Drømmer (Dreams)”, interview with the director Dag Johan Haugerud and the actress Ella Øverbye appeared first on Fred Film Radio.