FRED Film Radio - English Channel

After many years as successful producer, Robert Salerno is making his directorial debut with “Here After”, coming out in Cinemas on July 25th.

As of Italian descendants, Salerno sets his horror drama in Italy where Robin, a teenager, starts displaying a disturbing behavior after a near death experience.

Played by Freya Hannan-Mills, a new young actress to definitely keep an eye on, the protagonist has what it takes to make the audience feel extremely anxious all the time.

As the title suggests and Salerno confirms, the film, with the “Here” and “After” is a reflection on how  difficult it is to live a normal life while still in a grieving process. The film protagonist, Robin’s mother, Claire, seems to really be ok with the past while instead, she never really dealt with it.

Robert Salerno is the producer of iconic films such as “21 grams” but also of horror box office hits like Smile. Considering this experience, the director explains how he played with the horror genre’s archetypes and tropes and when he gave them up in favour of drama.

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Bella Thorne is back at the Taormina Film fest, the 70th edition directed by Marco Müller with two projects.

She’s playing the lead in “Saint Clare“, second feature by US based italian director Mitzi Peirone. She’s presenting her second short film as director, “Unsettled“.

After her first work, “Paint it Red“, presented at the Taormina Film Fest last year, “Unsettled” is based on Bella’s friend Jason Parks’real story of abuse and kidnapping.

Thorne’s first feature film “Color Your hurt“, in pre-production, will be developed and based on “Unsettled“.

The actress reveals what moves her as a director and describes her state when she’s directing as “being in love”.

The post “Unsettled”, interview with director Bella Thorne appeared first on Fred Film Radio.

After the success of her first independent film, “Braid“, based italian director Mitzi Peirone presents her new film, “Saint Clare” at the 70th Taormina Film Fest.

The director gathers on the big screen movie icons Rebecca De Mournay and Bella Thorne for the film adaptation of the young adult novel “Clare at 16“.

“Saint Clare” is a comedy thriller that sees De Mournay and Thorne as grandma and granddaughter.

Clare is compared to Joan of Arc as she’s a sort of a bad men’s killer guided by divine voices.

Mitzi Peirone and Rebecca De Mournay describe how they worked with Bella Thorne in a passionate and understanding environment, where love and support were offered on a daily basis.

“Saint Clare” proves the stereotype of women not supporting each other wrong.

The post “Saint Clare”, interview with director Mitzi Peirone and actress Rebecca De Mournay appeared first on Fred Film Radio.

Israeli director Amos Gitai is back at the Taormina Film Fest after 25 years, with his new work “Shikun“.

At the 70th edition of the festival, directed from this year on by Marco Müller, Amos Gitai is introducing his film, which premiered last February at the Berlinale, to the italian audience.

Conceived and shot in Tel Aviv a while before the events of October 7th, 2024, “Shikun” in hebrew means collective housing as the film is set there, a sort of refugee building giving shelter to anyone asking for help: Israelis, Palestinians, Ukrainians

The inspiration for the film comes from Eugène Ionesco’s play “Rhinoceros“, an anti-totalitarian fable the Romanian author wrote at the end of the 50’s.

Ionesco’s words felt so contemporary to address what’s happening in his country but also in the world that Gitai asked Irene Jacob who, at the time was busy in Paris in a play based on Gitai’s own work, to come back to Tel Aviv and shot the film.

The post “Shikun”, interview with director Amos Gitai appeared first on Fred Film Radio.

For the 58th edition of the Karlovy Vary Film Festival, the legendary American independent producer Christine Vachon – beyond her unwavering collaboration with Todd Haynes since the very beginning for both, she has accompanied, through Killer Films, some of the boldest and most exciting filmmakers of the past three decades including Todd Solondz, Robert Altman, John Waters, Paul Schrader, Brady Corbet, more recently Celine Song – paid her second visit in a row to the Czech A-list film event, this time as a member of the five-headed jury who will decide on the winner of the Crystal Globe.

The post An interview with producer Christine Vachon, member of the Crystal Globe Competition jury at the 58th Karlovy Vary IFF appeared first on Fred Film Radio.

Subhadra Mahajan on the sort of family which forms in this house up in the mountains: “I think that what bonds the three of them is that at different points in the film, they become each other’s mothers.”; “Nia enables Sunny to have a second chance, and Bhemi to have a second chance, within her journey, and in trying to give them second chances is where she discovers that she has the strength to give herself a second chance.”

The post “Second Chance”, an interview with director Subhadra Mahajan and actress Dheera Johnson appeared first on Fred Film Radio.

FAMU alumni Adam Martinec, already saluted on the festival circuit for his shorts “Sugar and Salt” and “Anatomy of a Czech Afternoon” (which took part in the EFP’s Future Frames programme in Karlovy Vary), tells us about his debut feature, “Our Lovely Pig Slaughter“, selected in the Crystal Globe Competition of the 58th Karlovy Vary International Film Festival.

The post “Our Lovely Pig Slaughter”, an interview with director Adam Martinec appeared first on Fred Film Radio.

“I’ve always been a passionate feminist, I read Simone de Beauvoir when I was still a teenager, and I think the reason I’m a passionate feminist is that the politics of equality and liberation doesn’t really free woman: it frees men. (…) I think feminism is a basic humanism, so it’s exciting for me to come across an artist like this, because not only can I see her poetics, as a filmmaker I can feel a certain rage and anger about her sequestration, the fact that the art world didn’t value her enough.”

“Isn’t it interesting that we talking about a woman who was considered uncool, and now we can see her through a feminist lens, which is very contemporary, a neurodiversity lens, which is very contemporary, and of course the fact that the glaciers have disappeared, we are seeing it through an environmental lens as well. This is three ways that this woman, twenty years after her death, is extremely relevant I think.”

The post “A Sudden Glimpse to Deeper Things”, an interview with director Mark Cousins appeared first on Fred Film Radio.

At the Karlovy Vary International Film Festival, we talked with Hilke Rönnfeldt, a rising talent selected for the FUTURE FRAMES program. Her short film “A Study of Empathy”, which has already won the Pardo d’Oro for Best Short at the Locarno Film Festival, sharply examines the art world and human interaction. The film follows art student Penelope and her subject, Dana, whose meeting takes an unexpected turn, leaving Dana profoundly disturbed.

When asked to describe “A Study of Empathy“, Hilke Rönnfeldt characterizes it as “a study of empathy indeed. The film follows Dana, who receives a visit from a performance artist student. The experience turns out differently than expected, leaving Dana puzzled about her feelings and self-perception,” she explains.

Hilke Rönnfeldt shares the dual inspirations for her film “A Study of Empathy“. “I find empathy fascinating—it’s so individual. What one person considers empathy might not be the same for another. I wanted to explore this through fiction,” she says. “Additionally, I once participated in an art performance that left me deeply puzzled and reflective about my reactions and feelings. These experiences inspired the story.”

Reflecting on contemporary society’s focus on digital interactions, Hilke Rönnfeldt notes, “There’s a shift from in-person contact to online expressions, where we lack the visual and emotional cues. This change has impacted how we relate to each other and was a significant aspect of my research for the film.”

Discussing the role of art and Cinema, Hilke Rönnfeldt asserts, “Cinema is one of the strongest mediums to explore and reflect emotions. Combining image, sound, and dialogue allows for a nuanced expression of feelings. For me, cineCinemaps identify and articulate emotions that might otherwise remain unspoken.”

Hilke Rönnfeldt recounts the main challenge of making her film “A Study of Empathy”: “The production had to go very fast as it was a graduation project at Super 16 in Copenhagen. We lost our initial location two months before shooting, so everything from scriptwriting to securing new locations had to be done quickly,” she explains. “Additionally, directing intimate scenes required meticulous planning to ensure everyone felt comfortable and respected.”

Reflecting on the audience’s reactions, Rönnfeldt finds it fascinating. “The film invited a range of interpretations—some judged the characters harshly, while others were more empathetic. It’s interesting to see how personal experiences influence perceptions of empathy,” she says.

Hilke Rönnfeldt praises the short film format for its precision and freedom. “Short films allow for a concentrated exploration of themes. The audience’s attention and energy are fully engaged, which makes every frame significant,” she notes.

Hilke Rönnfeldt is working on new projects, including a short film about floating border shapes and a feature film script titled “The Deep Sea Blue”. She is excited to continue exploring themes of borders and emotional boundaries in her future work.

Describing her experience at the FUTURE FRAMES program, Rönnfeldt says, “It was amazing and intense. Meeting other filmmakers and seeing their diverse works was incredibly inspiring. I’m grateful to German Films and the European Film Promotion for this opportunity.“

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“Who stands up for Alvar”, Icelandic director Anna Maria Joakimsdottír Hutri is first own short feature film, participating at the 58th KVIFF’s Future Frames.

After many projects she co-directed, including a feature  film, “A Music story”, Joakimsdottír Hutri finally took the chance of writing and directing a story of her own, showing all her creative skills.

As KVIFF programmer Anna Kořínek writes: “Who Stands Up For Alvar is a critique of an overburdened welfare system that drains caregivers of valuable energy they could be devoting to their clients, as well as a poignant look at the need for “ordinary” human kindness.”

The film’s not only about the social system that fails but it is also a tale of a mother and a daughter.

The post “Who Stands up for Alvar”, interview with director Anna Maria Joakimsdottír Hutri appeared first on Fred Film Radio.