FRED Film Radio - English Channel

PODCAST | Matt Micucci interviews Alec Utgoff, actor of the film Never Gonna Snow Again.

A conversation with Alec Utgoff, lead actor of Never Gonna Snow Again, directed by Małgorzata Szumowska and Michał Englert, and presented in competition at he 77th Venice International Film Festival. Utgoff talks about the spiritual nature of the film and tells us whether he feels he is a spiritual person. He also shares his experience of working with the director, who left him room to explore and even improvise, and more.

Never Gonna Snow Again: A masseur from the East enters the lives of the rich residents of a bland, walled off community. Despite their wealth, the residents emit an inner sadness, a longing. The mysterious newcomer’s hands heal, his eyes seem to penetrate their souls. To them, his Russian accent sounds like a song from the past, a memory of their seemingly safer childhood. Zhenia, for this is his name, changes their lives.

The post Alec Utgoff – Never Gonna Snow Again #Venezia77 appeared first on Fred Film Radio.

PODCAST | Matt Micucci interviews Andrei Konchalovsky, director of the film Dear Comrades!.

A conversation with filmmaker Andrei Konchalovsky, who presented his latest film, Dear Comrades!, in competition at the 77th Venice International Film Festival. The film revisits a true event that occurred in the early ’60s in the Soviet Union and we ask him about the challenges of revisiting history in cinema. He also reveals the influence of Greek mythology and talks about the style of Dear Comrades!, sharing that it was inspired by the films of that period.

Dear Comrades!: USSR, Novocherkassk, 1962. Lyudmila is a member of the local Communist Party. She’s a staunch upholder of the Communist regime and ideals and despises any form of dissent. During a labour strike at the local electromotive factory, she witnesses the shooting on the protesters by the Army sent by the government to quell the strike: a massacre. An event that will change her vision of the world forever. The city is torn apart by riots, arrests, hasty convictions and by the curfew. Many people are injured and several ones are missing. Precisely in those days Lyudmila’s daughter disappears into thin air and the woman starts an anguished, dangerous and relentless search, in spite of the blockade of the city, the arrests and the attempt at a cover-up by the authorities. The movie is based on a true story that happened on June 2nd, 1962 in Novocherkassk and kept secret until the Nineties. The investigation was started in 1992. The victims were secretly buried in graves under fake names so they could never be found. Major suspects among the top Soviet officials were dead at that time. Culprits have never been convicted.

The post Andrei Konchalovsky – Dear Comrades! #Venezia77 appeared first on Fred Film Radio.

PODCAST | Matt Micucci interviews Julia Vysotskaya, actress of the film Dear Comrades!.

A conversation with Julia Vysotskaya, lead actress of Andrei Konchalovsky’s film, Dear Comrades!, presented in competition at the 77th Venice International Film Festival. The film is based on a true story and we ask her whether she feels her performance humanizes history, as well as whether she feels that one of the differences of this film to similars is that the protagonist is a woman. We also ask her about connecting with her character and about the meaning of the term “comrades.”

Dear Comrades!: USSR, Novocherkassk, 1962. Lyudmila is a member of the local Communist Party. She’s a staunch upholder of the Communist regime and ideals and despises any form of dissent. During a labour strike at the local electromotive factory, she witnesses the shooting on the protesters by the Army sent by the government to quell the strike: a massacre. An event that will change her vision of the world forever. The city is torn apart by riots, arrests, hasty convictions and by the curfew. Many people are injured and several ones are missing. Precisely in those days Lyudmila’s daughter disappears into thin air and the woman starts an anguished, dangerous and relentless search, in spite of the blockade of the city, the arrests and the attempt at a cover-up by the authorities. The movie is based on a true story that happened on June 2nd, 1962 in Novocherkassk and kept secret until the Nineties. The investigation was started in 1992. The victims were secretly buried in graves under fake names so they could never be found. Major suspects among the top Soviet officials were dead at that time. Culprits have never been convicted.

The post Julia Vysotskaya – Dear Comrades! #Venezia77 appeared first on Fred Film Radio.

PODCAST | Chiara Nicoletti interviews Charles Dance, actor of the film The Book of Vision.

We learned to fear him as Tywin Lannister in Game of Thrones and now british actor Charles Dance, is at the 77th Venice Film festival as the protagonist of Venice Critic’s week opening film: The Book of Vision by Carlo Hintermann. In the film produced by Terrence Malick and debut feature by documentarist Carlo Hinterman, Charles Dance plays two characters, two doctors with a different approach to medicine, one belonging to the past and one acting in the present. The one from the past, John Ammuth can cure patients by listening to them, by reading their bodies and fantasies. This way he’s putting the basis for what we call today: narrative medicine. Charles Dance describes his roles and gives his opinion on this very interesting approach to medicine and more generally on how our minds can affect our bodies and how “we can make ourselves sick”. The actor also comments on the film’s depiction of the connection between life and death. Is there life beyond death? Do we really have to know? answers Dance. The secret, according to Dance is to be optimistic.

The Book of Vision: Eva, a doctor and student of the history of medicine, discovers a manuscript by Johan Anmuth, an 18th century physician. In his Book of Vision, Anmuth focuses on the feelings, fears and dreams of over 1800 of his patients, whose spirits still wander through the pages. Immersing herself in these tales and visions, Eva questions the separation of the past, present and future, while confronting the challenges of modern medicine and its limitations with respect to her own body.

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PODCAST | Angelo Acerbi interviews Karel Och, director Karlovy Vary Film Festival.

Karel Och is the director of the Karlovy Vary film festival. He is one of the eight festival directors invited by Alberto Barbera on the Opening Night of the Venice Film Festival. This symbolic appearance is the starting point of our talk about the state of the art of festivals and the possible near future, hopefully temporary.

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PODCAST | Matt Micucci interviews Azra Deniz Okyay, director of the film Ghosts.

A conversation with Azra Deniz Okyay, director of Ghosts, presented at the International Critics Week parallel and independent strand of the 77th Venice International Film Festival. In this interview, Oykay talks about the socio-political situation that the film depicts, particularly in terms of the current generation and the young women in Turkey. She also talks about the dynamism of the structure of the film and the meaning behind it, as well as how Ghosts reflects the eclecticism and multiculturalism of the city of Istanbul.

Ghosts:  In Istanbul, a day on the verge of a country-wide power surge unfolds with four characters – a mother whose son is in prison, a young woman committed to dancing, a female activist-artist and a cunning middle man – all in a neighbourhood undergoing a process of gentrification for the “New Turkey”. Their stories intertwine along the day up until a drug deal incident, offering a roaring tale of the contemporary generation.

To discover more about the film Ghosts, click here.

The post Azra Deniz Okyay – Ghosts #Venezia77 appeared first on Fred Film Radio.

PODCAST | Chiara Nicoletti interviews Sabine Verheyen, President of the Committee on Culture and Education of the European Parliament.

Sabine Verheyen, President of the Committee on Culture and Education of the European Parliament is at the 77t Venice Film Festival, at the Giornate degli Autori to host a panel on how to protect cultural and creative industries in times of crisis. On FRED the President explains in depth all the initiatives the European Parliament will overtake to help cultural and audiovisual companies to survive the crisis.

A stock of the situation for Europe’s audiovisual ecosystem during the past, very challenging months, and a look at the future, discussing ways to ensure immediate recovery, but also long-term competitiveness of this key industry.

To discover more about Protecting cultural and creative industries in times of crisis, click here.

The post Sabine Verheyen – Committee on Culture and Education of the European Parliament #Giornate2020 appeared first on Fred Film Radio.

PODCAST | Matt Micucci interviews Milo Rau, director of the film The New Gospel.

A conversation with Milo Rau, director of The New Gospel, a special presentation of the Giornate degli Autori, the independent and parallel strand of the 77th Venice International Film Festival. The film is a hybrid between the filming of a version of the Gospel and the fight for the rights of the migrants exploited in agrarian work in Southern Italy, set in the city and environs of Matera. In this film, Rau talks about his experience of filming there, how he met the political activist Yvan Sagnet who is a central figure of The New Gospel, the influence of Pier Paolo Pasolini (who filmed his classic The Gospel According to Matthew There) and more.

The New Gospel: What would Jesus preach in the 21st century? Who would his disciples be? And how would today’s society respond to the return of the Son of God? With The New Gospel, Milo Rau is staging a “Revolt of Dignity”. Led by political activist Yvan Sagnet, the movement is fighting for the rights of migrants who came to Europe across the Mediterranean to be enslaved on the tomato fields in southern Italy and to live in ghettos under inhumane conditions. The director and his team return to the origins of the gospel and stage it as a passion play of an entire civilization.

The post Milo Rau – The New Gospel #Giornate2020 appeared first on Fred Film Radio.

PODCAST | Matt Micucci interviews Lili Horvát and Natasa Stork, director and actress of the film Preparations to Be Together for an Unknown Period of Time.

In conversation with director Lili Horvát and actress Natasa Stork, who presented the film Preparations to Be Together for an Unknown Period of Time within the program of the Giornate degli Autori, the independent parallel strand of the 77th Venice International Film Festival. Together, they talk about the idiosyncratic portrayal of love and the film’s theme of accosting the a scientific, medical aspect to a psychologically dense narrative. They also share their thoughts on whether we live in a world where communication between people is more challenging and about loneliness, which too is a central aspect of the movie.

Preparations to Be Together for an Unknown Period of Time: Márta, a 40-year-old neurosurgeon, falls in love. She leaves her shining American career behind and returns to Budapest to start a new life with the man she loves. But she waits for him at the Liberty Bridge in vain – he does not appear at their rendezvous. Márta starts to search for him desperately, but when she finally finds him, the love of her life claims that they have never met before.

The post Lili Horvát, Natasa Stork – Preparations to Be Together for an Unknown Period of Time #Venezia77 appeared first on Fred Film Radio.

PODCAST | Matt Micucci interviews Chaitanya Tamhane and Aditya Modak, director and actor of the film The Disciple.

A conversation with director Chaitanya Tamhane and actor Aditya Modak, who presented the film The Disciple in competition at the 77th Venice International Film Festival. The film revolves around the transcendental world of Indian Classical Music and given that Modak is also a foremost contemporary interpreter of the music, we ask him to share with us how he would introduce it to anyone who is not familiar with it. We also talk about the importance of the setting of Mumbai for the film and for the director to talk about the theme of the relationship between the disciple and the guru within this film’s narrative.

The Disciple: Sharad Nerulkar has devoted himself to becoming an Indian classical vocalist, a lifelong quest in which few succeed. Initiated into this centuries-old tradition by his father, he follows his dream with sincerity and discipline, committing himself entirely to his artistic journey. As he strives to attain the highest level of his craft, Sharad traces his way through the hallowed mysteries and rituals of past musical legends. But as the years pass, Sharad will be forced to negotiate between the complex realities of life in contemporary Mumbai and his chosen path, leading him to find his true voice in music and in life.

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