FRED Film Radio - English Channel

PODCAST | Chiara Nicoletti interviews actress Julie Andrews. 

The Golden Lion for Lifetime Achievement of the 76th Venice International Film Festival has been awarded to the great English actress Julie Andrews. Right after the ceremony, a fortunate audience could watch Victor Victoria again on the big screen. The actress talks about how modern and actual the film is nowadays and how lucky she was to be able to portray so many strong yet delicate women through her career. When asked about the moment in her life she is the most nostalgic of, the answer of the lady behind Mary Poppins and The Sound of Music is amazingly “the birth of her children”. Julie Andrews, after 50 years, is still a breath of fresh air in the cinema world and not only.

Julie Andrews has been a beloved and much-honored star of stage, screen and television for more than half a century. She was already a Broadway legend when she made her feature film debut in 1964’s Mary Poppins. Andrews’ iconic performance in the title role of the magical nanny brought her an Academy Award, a Golden Globe and a BAFTA Award. The following year, she earned a second Oscar nomination and won another Golden Globe Award for her unforgettable portrayal of Maria Von Trapp in The Sound of Music. She received her third Academy Award nomination and won another Golden Globe Award for her “dual” role in Victor/Victoria. Today’s young film audiences may be more familiar with Andrews as a queen trying to train her teenaged granddaughter to be a princess in the hit films, The Princess Diaries, and its sequel, The Princess Diaries 2: The Royal Engagement. Most recently she gave voice to the aquatic creature Kharaten in the recent blockbuster Aquaman, but is also well known voicing the character of Queen Lillian in Shrek 2, Shrek the Third and Shrek Goes Fourth as well as Gru’s mother in Despicable Me and Minions movies. Ms Andrews was born and raised in England, where she first came to fame at the age of twelve as a young singer with a phenomenal voice performing on stage and on radio. She was still in her teens when she made her way across the Atlantic to Broadway, for her 1953 debut in the musical The Boy Friend. In 1956 she created the role of Eliza Doolittle in Alan Jay Lerner and Frederick Loewe’s Broadway musical My Fair Lady, which became an instant classic. In 1961 Julie originated the role of Queen Guinevere in Lerner and Loewe’s musical Camelot. In 1964 Ms. Andrews was called to Hollywood to play the title role of the magical nanny in Mary Poppins, which earned her an Academy Award. In the same year, Andrews starred opposite James Garner in The Americanization of Emily (1964), for which she was nominated for the BAFTA Award for Best Actress in a Leading Role. A comedy-drama war film set in London during World War II, Andrews has described it as her favourite film, a sentiment shared by her co-star Garner. The following year she portrayed Maria von Trapp in the iconic film The Sound of Music. In 1966, Andrews starred in Hawaii, the second highest-grossing film of its year. Also in 1966, she starred opposite Paul Newman in Torn Curtain, which was directed by Alfred Hitchcock. The following year, she played the title character in Thoroughly Modern Millie (1967), for which she received a Golden Globe nomination. At the time, Thoroughly Modern Millie and Torn Curtain were the biggest and second biggest hits in Universal Pictures history, respectively. Andrews next appeared in Star! (1968), a biopic of Gertrude Lawrence; and Darling Lili (1970), co-starring Rock Hudson and directed by Blake Edwards. Ms Andrews and Mr Edwards were married soon after and for the next 25 years, they made a string of movies that include The Tamarind Seed, 10, S.O.B., That’s Life, and Victor/Victoria. Ms. Andrews has been honoured for her work in television, beginning with her 1957 performance in the title role of Rodgers and Hammerstein’s musical Cinderella, and many years later starring in her own musical variety series, The Julie Andrews Hour. In addition, there were numerous television specials including three with her ‘chum’ Carol Burnett and another with John Denver and Placido Domingo entitled The Sounds of Christmas. Movies made for television include One Special Night with James Garner, Eloise At The Plaza, and Eloise at Christmastime. An accomplished best-selling author (Mandy, The Last Of The Really Great Whangdoodles) Ms. Andrews joined talents with her daughter, Emma Walton Hamilton, in 2003 to create The Julie Andrews Collection. To date they have released over thirty books. Their current franchise of books entitled, The Very Fairy Princess launched as No.1 on the New York Times Children’s Best Seller list and several of their subsequent releases within the franchise earned best seller list status as well. Ms. Andrews’ biography, Home – A Memoir of My Early Years, was released in April 2008 and immediately climbed to No.1 on the New York Times Best Seller list. The second installment of her memoir, Home Work, is scheduled to be released this October and covers Julie’s life from 1963 through the late 1980s. Several other projects created and/or authored by Ms Andrews and her daughter have been or are currently being developed for TV, film and stage. This includes a new television series recently launched worldwide on Netflix entitled Julie’s Greenroom, which the mother/daughter team co-created, wrote and produced with the Jim Henson Company. Concurrently, Ms Andrews has come full circle and is delighting in her work as a director of musicals. Recently she helmed an extraordinary revival of My Fair Lady (the very musical in which Julie starred in the original 1956 Broadway production creating the Eliza Doolittle character) which opened at the Sydney Opera House to rave reviews and breaking all box office records and subsequently toured through Australia to the delight of multi-generational audiences. Earlier in the decade Julie directed a musical adaptation of one of her children’s books (co-authored with Emma) entitled The Great American Musical in addition to two separate stage productions of The Boy Friend (in which Julie starred in the 1953 Broadway production). Julie is dedicated to several charitable causes including Operation USA, which she and her late husband of 41 years (famed writer/director Blake Edwards), helped to found. She is on the board of the Foundation for Hereditary Disease, supports Americans for the Arts and is an enthusiastic board member of the Los Angeles Philharmonic. From 1992 to 2006, Ms Andrews served as Goodwill Ambassador for the United Nations Development Fund for Women (UNIFEM). In the year 2000 Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II bestowed upon her the title Dame Commander of the British Empire. Aside from an Oscar, Ms Andrews has received several Emmys, Golden Globes, a BAFTA and Grammy award, among others. In 2001 she was made a Kennedy Center Honoree and in 2011 was celebrated with the SAG Lifetime Achievement Award. Together, she and Blake raised five children and, much to her delight, ten grandchildren and three great-grandchildren.

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PODCAST | Nicolò Comotti interviews Václav Marhoul, director, producer and writer of the film The Painted Bird.

Václav Marhoul’s epic effort to bring Jerzy Kosinski’s book to the screen is finally ready. The Painted Bird is here in Venezia 76 in the official competition and we had the chance to hear Marhoul’s account on all the events that unravelled before, during, and after the shooting.

The Painted Bird: Based on the acclaimed novel by Jerzy Kosinski, The Painted Bird is a meticulous 35mm black and white evocation of wild, primitive Eastern Europe at the bloody close of World War II. The film follows the journey of the Boy, entrusted by his persecuted parents to an elderly foster mother. The old woman soon dies and the Boy is on his own, wandering through the country-side, from village to farmhouse. As he struggles for survival, the Boy suffers through extraordinary brutality meted out by the superstitious peasants and he witnesses the terrifying violence of the efficient, ruthless soldiers, both Russian and German. When the war ends, the Boy has been changed, forever.

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PODCAST | Nicolò Comotti interviews Tom Vaughan-Lawlor and Tom Glynn-Carney, actors of the film Rialto.

Tom Vaughan-Lawlor and Tom Glynn-Carney are the main interpreters of Rialto, the latest film by Peter Mackie Burns and written by Mark O’Halloran, here in Venezia 76 in the Orizzonti section. Based on the play Trade by the very Mark O’Halloran, Rialto moves away from its origins to convey a drama of loss, crisis and self destruction.

Rialto: Colm is in his mid-forties, married, with two teenage children. Still grieving the death of his father, a destructive figure in his life, Colm struggles with his relationship to his own son, whilst at work a recent takeover threatens his job. Unable to share his vulnerability with his wife, Colm’s world is falling apart around him. In the midst of this crisis, Colm solicits sex from a young man called Jay. This encounter and his growing infatuation has a deep effect on Colm. He finds a comfort in Jay that no one else can provide.

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PODCAST| Cristiana Palmieri interviews Juan Caceres, director of the film Perro Bomba.

In describing the making of his debut film and the experience of working with natural actors, Juan Caceres delves into immigration, social justice and inclusiveness in urban shared spaces.

Perro Bomba: Haitian-born Steevens has built a simple but stable life in Santiago, working hard, gaining his residence permit, and finding some friendship and fun too. The arrival from Haiti of childhood friend Junior throws his delicately balanced life into chaos. Taunted by his boss on the construction site, and egged on by Junior, Steevens gets into a fist-fight which is recorded and goes viral in the media. Steevens is disowned by his community and his friends, and without papers or a home, Steevens wanders Santiago looking for the chance to restore his happiness. Perro Bomba examines the social and personal impacts of rapid immigration and social displacement.

To discover more about the film, click here.

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PODCAST| Cristiana Palmieri interviews Gisselle Gallego, festival programmer of the Sydney Latin American Film Festival.

Gisselle Gallego talks about SLAFF’s aim to showcase independent Latin American cinema and to supports voices in cinema that struggle to be heard. This year the festival focuses on migration and the individuals and communities who are impacted by a wide range of social justice issues.

SLAFF supports and raises awareness for grassroots community development initiatives. It is through our Community Support Program that SLAFF is able to provide financial support to organisations that strive to create positive changes in their communities and address social issues. Since 2006, SLAFF has raised more than $128,000 for 30 worthy organisations through ticket sales.

To discover more about the Festival, click here.

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PODCAST | Angelo Acerbi interviews Billie Piper and Leo Bill, director and actor of the film Rare Beasts. 

Billie Piper and Leo Bill have a funny and compelling chat about the film Rare Beasts, that Piper wrote directed and starred in as a single mother complicated and nihilist. With a strong narrative rhythm, fast paced dialogues and a subtle and disenchanted sense of humour, the film narrates, as Piper says, a dysfunctional love story. And the modern battle between emancipated women and worried and under-prepared men, who suffer and mismanage all relationships.

Rare Beasts: Mandy is a mother, a writer, a nihilist. Mandy is a modern woman in a crisis. Raising a son in the midst of a female revolution, mining the pain of her parents’ separation and professionally writing about a love that no longer exists, she falls upon a troubled man, Pete, who’s searching for a sense of worth, belonging and ‘restored’ Male identity.

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PODCAST | Matt Micucci interviews Phillip Youmans, director of the film Burning Cane. 

Director Phillip Youmans talks to us about his film, Burning Cane, presented at the 2019 Venice International Film Festival in the Giornate degli Autori section. The director talks about his decision of opting to leave grey areas in his narrative, and why he decided to explore the culture of the swampy Louisiana setting, where Burning Cane takes place. He also talks about how his directorial method applied to his actors and the influences of this specific style.

Burning Cane tells the story of a deeply religious woman’s struggle to reconcile her convictions of faith with the love she has for her alcoholic son and a troubled preacher.

To discover more about the film, click here.

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PODCAST | Matt Micucci interviews Lynne Ramsey, director of the film Brigitte. 

FRED talked with the great filmmaker Lynne Ramsey about her short film, Brigitte, presented in the Giornate degli Autori section of the 2019 Venice International Film Festival. The film is part of MIU MIU’s Women’s Tales initiative, and it also marks Ramsey’s first documentary film ever. Its subject: photographer Brigitte Lacombe.

Brigitte, a short documentary by Lynne Ramsay. Framed round a candid conversation between the photographer Brigitte Lacombe and the film maker discussing their process and fascination with images as well as Brigitte’s close relationship to her sister Marian Lacombe (whom she works and travels with). Lynne sets up and films a real time photo shoot for Brigitte, selecting a “cast” for her to photograph with a theme of sisters and creative siblings, allowing us to closely observe the photographer at work. A cast of some true relations, close friend’s considered sisters and “siblings” with modern redefinitions of family not connected by blood. An insight into Brigitte‘s creative process, her obsession with taking pictures and how her lens defines her relationship with her subjects and the world.

To discover more about the film, click here.

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PODCAST | Matt Micucci interviews Lemohang Jeremiah Mosese and Cait Pansegrouw, director and producer of the film This Is Not a Burial, It’s a Resurrection. 

An interview with director Lemohang Jeremiah Mosese and producer Cait Pansegrouw about their film This Is Not a Burial, It’s a Resurrection, from the Biennale College strand of the 2019 Venice International Film Festival. The director talks about his very visual style and approach as well as the personal origins of his story, while the producer also talks about the experience of working within the Biennale College initiative.

This Is Not a Burial, It’s a Resurrection: In a small village nestled amongst the mountains of land-locked Lesotho, an 80-year-old widow awaits the return of her only surviving family member: her son, a migrant worker labouring in a South African coal mine. It is Christmas and he is due home. Somber messengers deliver the news: her son has died in a mining accident. Distraught by the sudden news of his untimely death, Mantoa struggles to find meaning in her existence. An invisible wall of bewilderment arises and stands between Mantoa and the outside world. God, the village, and reality too, appear further and further away. Consumed by grief, her yearning for death and reuniting with her family steadily grows. She yearns to be laid to rest in the local cemetery with her loved ones. Mantoa winds up her affairs early and makes arrangements for her own burial. Her plans are punctuated when she learns that the village is to be forcibly resettled due to the construction of a dam reservoir. The land will be flooded and the cemetery desecrated. Mantoa’s resolve is unwavering; igniting a collective spirit of defiance within the community. In the final dramatic moments of her life, Mantoa’s legend is forged and made eternal.

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PODCAST | Annalisa Sandrelli interviews Anna Matamala, for FRED’s periodical programme on media accessibility.

Anna Matamala, BA in Translation (Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona) and PhD in Applied Linguistics (Universitat Pompeu Fabria, Barcelona), is an associate professor at Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona (Barcelona), where she teaches audiovisual translation. She worked as an audiovisual translator for more than ten years for the Catalan television TVC. She has participated (DTV4ALL, ADLAB, HBB4ALL) and led (AVT-LP, ALST, VIW) funded projects on audiovisual translation and media accessibility. She currently leads TransMedia Catalonia research group, she is currently leading the national project NEA and the European project EASIT, and is involved in the European projects ADLAB PRO and ImAc. She has taken an active role in the organisation of scientific events such as the Media for All conference or the Advanced Research Audio Description Seminar ARSAD, and has published extensively in international refereed journals such as Meta, The Translator, Perspectives, Babel, Translation Studies, among others. She is the author of a book on interjections and lexicography (IEC, 2005), co-author (with Eliana Franco and Pilar Orero) of a book on voice-over (Peter Lang, 2010), and co-editor of various volumes on audiovisual translation and media accessibility. Joan Coromines Prize in 2005, and APOSTA Award to Young Researchers in 2011. Her research interests are audiovisual translation, media accessibility and applied linguistics. She is currently involved in standardisation work at ISO.

The 8th Media for All International Conference was held at Stockholm University on June 17–19, 2019. The conference attracted academics, researchers, language practitioners, translators, interpreters, broadcasters, government agencies, support groups and the audiovisual translation (AVT) and media accessibility (MA) industry, not only from Europe, but indeed from all over the world. Anna Matamala’s presentation at the conference, together with Rocío Bernabé Caro (Deputy Head of the Professional College of Translation and Interpreting of the SDI München and lecturer at the SDI University of Applied Languages), offers an overview of the European project EASIT and presents the results of the first two project phases. As Anna says in the interview, the aim of the project is to define the skills of the professional (or professionals) involved in creating easy-to-understand content, with an emphasis on how already existing professionals such as audio describers or subtitlers could expand their skills to cater for innovative hybrid contexts in audiovisual media.

To discover more about Media For All Conference, click here.

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