FRED Film Radio - English Channel

PODCAST| Angelo Acerbi interviews Martin Sulik, director of the film The Intrepreter.

Martin Sulik tells us about his film, a classic but intense trip back to through the memories of the Nazi era, from two old men, a Jew who suffered the loss of his family through the hands of the father of the other, who did not want to come to terms with his father’s past, until now. Urgent and compelling, a film that tells us about the incredible revisions of this recent past made by some governments and institutions in Slovakia, but not only there.

The Intrepreter:  An 80-year-old translator, Ali Ungar, comes across a book written by a former SS officer recounting his war experiences in Slovakia. Ali realises that one of the chapters may well describe his own parents’ execution. And so, armed with a pistol, he sets off to Vienna to look for the SS man and take his revenge. But once there, the only person he encounters is the man’s 70-year-old son Georg, a former teacher who has spent his whole life avoiding his father and suffering from an addiction to alcohol. The translator’s visit arouses Georg’s curiosity and he decides to invite Ali on a trip through Slovakia. But whilst Georg is basically out to have a good time, Ali is hoping to find out how his parents really died. Gradually, these two very different men begin to warm to each other and together, they discover a country that would prefer to forget about its past. Oscillating between comedy and tragedy, Martin Sulík’s road movie focuses on two old men weighed down by the unresolved conflicts that have plagued their lives who are now trying to free themselves from this oppressive burden. Jirí Menzel plays the role of the gloomy and worldly-wise Ali, Peter Simonischek is the maverick Georg.

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PODCAST| Chiara Nicoletti interviews Lav Diaz, director of the film Season Of The Devil.

There’s no international film festival without Lav Diaz, the prolific Filipino director who already won a Golden Lion at the 2017 edition of the Venice Film Festival. After presenting Lullaby to the sorrowful mystery at the Berlinale last year, Diaz is back on FRED and at the Festival to present, in competition, his latest film Season Of The Devil, a musical, a rock opera inspired by real events and real people set in the darkest period of Philippine history, the 70’s. Lav Diaz reminds us that every period or historical film is a metaphor to describe the present we’re living in Europe and in the world. The devil of the title or the devils in general are the demagogues who rule so many countries now, like the new government in the Philippines. The director also reveals that he chose to direct a musical because of his first love, music. Lav Diaz was indeed a musician and singer during high school.

Season Of The Devil:  In the late 70s, a military-controlled militia gang terrorizes a remote village in the Philippines. The terror inflicted on citizens is not just corporal, but intensely psychological as well. They are constantly fed apocryphal tales about the village leader. A few souls fight, refusing to give up. Poet, teacher and activist Hugo Haniway desperately searches for the truth about his wife’s disappearance… In award-winning director Lav Diaz’s new film, the narrative and characters are a composite of real events and people from the period. It’s a love story set in the darkest period of Philippine history, the Marcos Dictatorship. Season Of The Devil is a Filipino rock opera with music and lyrics by Lav Diaz.

To discover more about the film, click here.

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PODCAST| Mario Galasso interviews Martín Rodríguez Redondo, director of the film Marilyn.

Born in Buenos Aires, Argentina in 1979, Martín Rodríguez Redondo studied filmmaking for cinema and television at the Centro de Investigación Cinematográfica (CIC) in the same city. He has been assistant director and producer on numerous documentaries. In 2016 he directed the short film Las liebres which screened at international film festivals and won the short film competition at the Instituto Nacional de Cine y Artes Audiovisuales (INCAA) in Argentina. Marilyn is his debut feature as a director. FRED Film Radio met him during the Berlinale and learnt from him those “true facts” his film was “inspired from” – as opposed to “based on”, a distinction Martín seems to care about – and discussed with him violence representation in contemporary cinema.

Marilyn:  There’s not much going on in this part of rural Argentina where a shy young man named Marcos lives with his family. Theirs is a modest existence, where gender roles are clearly demarcated. The hot summer doesn’t make life any easier, but money needs to be earned and the herd of cattle must be kept together. Marcos manages to carve out little islands of freedom during his routine; in these moments he likes to put make-up on his childlike face or slip into colourful dresses behind closed doors. Carnival is just around the corner; this year’s event will change Marcos’ life as dramatically as the family’s unexpected relocation. Martín Rodríguez Redondo’s cinematic debut is a tender portrait of youth and initially repressed self-discovery, told with serene understatement, devoid of guiding music. The roar of motorbikes promises both freedom and danger and, although there appears to be no escape from this world, the situation is far from hopeless for at some point young Federico appears on the scene. The images are contemplative and the narrative linear, yet the course taken by the film’s seemingly predictable trajectory is nonetheless surprising. A story based on true events.

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PODCAST| Chiara Nicoletti interviews Beki Probst, president of the European Film Market.

The European Film market wouldn’t have this name and wouldn’t be the pioneer it is known to be had it not been for Beki Probst and her work from 1988 onwards. Since 2014 she has been the president of the EFM that she created and the 68a Berlinale has awarded her with the most prestigious award, the Berlinale Camera. On FRED Beki Probst describes the first years of EFM, the atmosphere that there was back then and how it slowly but strongly became the big and essential market we know and attend annually to kick off the cinematographic year.

Beki Probst is considered the grande dame of the film world. Under her direction, the European Film Market has developed into one of the largest and most important trade fairs for cinema on the international scene. Dieter Kosslick congratulates his long-time colleague and friend on 30 years of successful work: “Without Beki Probst and her contacts worldwide, her charm and cosmopolitan gift for combining business and culture, the EFM would never have become such a successful platform and the strong backbone of the festival.” Beki Probst was born in Istanbul, where she first worked as a journalist after completing her studies in law and journalism. In 1960, Probst moved to Switzerland, where she became the general manager of the Probst-Kinobetriebe, known today as Quinnie Cinemas. From 1981 to 1988, Beki Probst served as the Berlin International Film Festival’s official delegate for Turkey and Greece. Up until 1995 she also served as a member of the selection committee for Locarno International Film Festival. From 1988 to 2014, Beki Probst was the director of the Berlinale’s European Film Market – Probst rebranded the former “film fair” as the European Film Market and subsequently transformed the event into one of the most significant industry meet-ups for the international film business. In addition, from 1988 to 1996 Beki Probst was the artistic director of the Geneva-based festival “Stars de Démain”. She has served as a jury member on multiple occasions at international film festivals, including appearances in Toronto, Jerusalem and San Sebastián. In 1992 Beki Probst was decorated as “Chevalier des Arts et des Lettres” by the French Ministry of Culture. Beki Probst was honoured with the Berlinale Camera on Friday, February 16, 2018, at 11.30 at Berlin’s Martin-Gropius-Bau.

To discover more about the European Film Market and Beki Probst, click here.

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PODCAST | Domoina Ratsara, film critic and journalist.

Domoina Ratsara is one of the Talents of this year’s edition of Berlinale Talents. She shares with FRED’s listeners her background and experiences.

Discover more about the Magazine she writes for here.

Follow her Facebook page here.

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PODCAST| Chiara Nicoletti interviews actress Michaela Coel, the UK representativ for EFP Shooting Stars 2018.

Since her participation in Star Wars: The Last Jedi in 2017, Michaela Coel’s fame has travelled beyond UK borders. In her country she’s a well known award-winning actress, playwright, screenwriter and poet and she has already won two BAFTAs. At the 68a Berlinale she’s the UK representative at the EFP Shooting Stars and without doubt, she’s the most international actress among her fellow stars colleagues. Despite her work in the US, she doesn’t feel American but very European. At the moment Michaela is unstoppable, a film is coming out this summer and her musical is almost ready so that she will probably be back on FRED soon.

EFP European Shooting Stars, one of EFP’s flagship programmes, has placed some of the most promising young actors from all over Europe into the limelight over the past 20 years and proven to be an essential stepping stone for launching their international careers. The most prominent names in recent years included: Carey Mulligan (Mudbound), Alba Rohrwacher (Ismael’s Ghosts), Alicia Vikander (Submergence), Pilou Asbaek (Game of Thrones), Riz Ahmed (Star Wars: Rogue One), Mikkel Boe Foelsgard (Land of Mine), and George MacKay (Captain Fantastic). Each year, young actors from all over Europe – who have already made a name for themselves in their home countries – are nominated by the EFP member organisations to take part in the prestigious programme. A jury of industry professionals selects the ten most interesting and internationally versatile talents to be introduced to the press, industry and public at the Berlin International Film Festival. As a European Shooting Star, the actors and actresses attend a tailor-made programme, including meetings with casting directors, talent agents and producers, which broadens and strengthens their international industry alliances and networks. The activities culminate in a glamorous presentation of the European Shooting Stars Awards at the Berlinale Palast.

To discover more about Michaela Coel, click here.

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PODCAST| Bénédicte Prot interviews Malgorzata Szumowska and Michal Englert, director/scriptwriter and co-scriptwriter of the film Mug.

A lovely Berlin moment, a few hours before the awards ceremony and the Silver Bear for Mug, with Polish director Malgorzata Szumowska and her long-term co-scriptwriter and DoP Michal Englert – also her collaborator on the two other films Szumowska presented in competition in Berlin, In the Name of… and Body, the latter ending up winning a Silver Bear for Best Director -, to discuss the choice of the title Mug, the origins of this very Polish satire and the humour in it, as well as the main character and what he embodies… Silver Bear – Grand Jury Prize Berlin 2018.

Mug combines the fundamental brutality of a rural provincial town where a giant statue of Jesus Christ is being built – a community quite content with sticking with the old ways whilst having an impressive potential for exaltation (for discount store operations or whatever is on TV -, with the story of a young and vital Metallica fan (Mateusz Kosciukiewicz) who has an accident while working on the statue and has to undergo a facial transplant. Around this loveable, now nearly-mute Frankenstein-type character whose his own mother doesn’t recognize, the village goes beserk.

To discover more about the film, click here.

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PODCAST| Chiara Nicoletti interviews Matthijs Wouter Knol, director of the European Film Market.

Since its birth in 1978 thanks to Beki Probst, the European Film Market has always worked on being and staying a pioneer in anticipating trends and waves in the film industry as it has the important task of starting the cinematographic year and setting the tone for its developments till Cannes and American film Market. Matthijs Wouter Knol, director of the EFM, comments on the celebration for its 30th year of activity and on the increasing number of visitors, exhibitors and participants. The EFM Horizon is at its second year of activity and its Industry debates are focusing on new technologies, Virtual Reality, Artificial intelligence and Blockchain. To open a discussion on diversity and why it matters is a special focus at this year’s EFM as is the whole future of the industry. Talking about “Focus”, the new country in Focus this year is Canada. The EFM was always the first to set new discussions to the table, first it was the EFM Drama series, then the attention on the producers side of the industry chain and now it’s the development of new technologies and new techniques. With the market trends changing so fast, how can the EFM keep track and predict the future? Matthijs Wouter Knol unveils a few secrets.

The Profile of the European Film Market Harnessing the energy of Berlin and the passion for film, the European Film Market is the business epicentre of one of the most important international film festivals in the world, the Berlinale. Every February the EFM opens the grand doors to the Martin-Gropius-Bau and welcomes over 9,500 producers, buyers, sales agents, distributors, exhibitors and financiers to the first major film market of the year. It’s the first date in the industry’s calendar and regarded as an early indicator for the new film year. Our trusted organization and commitment to quality content from around the world brings together the right people at the right place and time, inspiring the conversations and connections that are the cornerstone of the business. The meetings, the handshake, and the new film year… it all starts here.

To discover more about the European Film Market, click here.

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PODCAST| Angelo Acerbi interviews Marcus Hu, Head of Strand Releasing.

Marcus Hu is the owner of Strand Releasing, one of the largest independent distribution companies in the US and also member of the Academy of Motion Pictures , where he is working on a programme on diversity inclusion for the Oscars and for the general work the Academy does all over the world.

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PODCAST| Mario Galasso interviews Edoardo Nunes and Bárbara Luz, director and actress of the film Unicórnio.

Eduardo Nunes, young filmaker from Brazil, talks about his cinematic visions and literary obsessions while discussing his mysterious and immaginative coming of age drama, Unicórnio. FRED Film Radio met him during the 68th Berlinale Film Festival, where Eduardo’s feature was selected inside the Festival section Generation 14 plus. Bárbara Luz, teenage actress extraordinaire and gorgeous lead character, joined us too.

Unicórnio:  In an exhilarating, immersive flood of images, this mysterious drama portrays the coming of age of 13-year-old Maria, who lives in a remote rural home alone with her mother. When a young man moves into the neighbourhood with his goat herd, her life is suddenly turned upside down. As secret wishes and fears stir within Maria, she anxiously realizes that her mother seems to have gained a fresh lease on life. Maria confides only in her father, whom she visits in a somewhat surreal sanatorium. Why is he there? And why does he say that God is evil? Maria decides to take a drastic step. With its captivating visual opulence and the fairytale-like poetry of its narrative style, the film creates a space which inspires imagination and self-reflection.

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