FRED Film Radio - English Channel

PODCAST | Matt Micucci interviews Kore-eda Hirokazu and Fukuyama Masaharu, director and actor of the film The Third Murder.

The great filmmaker Kore-eda Hirokazu talks to FRED about his latest work, The Third Murder, in competition at the 74th Venice International Film Festival. Along with him, one of its lead actors, Fukuyama Masaharu. In this short but intense interview, Kore-eda discusses the importance of truth in his film – the many truths it presents, but also a lack of truth – while Masaharu talks about how he was able to connect with his character, the attorney Shigemori, who struggles to find the truth while questioning his own faith in the law.

The Third Murder:  leading attorney Shigemori takes on the defence of murder-robbery suspect Misumi who served jail time for another murder 30 years ago. Shigemori’s chances of winning the case seem low – his client freely admits his guilt, despite facing the death penalty if he is convicted. As he digs deeper into the case, as he hears the testimonies of the victim’s family and Misumi himself, the once confident Shigemori begins to doubt whether his client is the murderer after all.

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PODCAST | Matt Micucci interviews Andrei Severny and Vikas Khanna, director and protagonist of the film Buried Seeds.

Director Andrei Severny presented his documentary Buried Seeds at the 74th Venice International Film festival, in the Giornate degli Autori strand. The film tells the story of the life of Michelin Star Chef Vikas Khanna, and his journey as an immigrant, from India to New York. Both stopped at our FRED studio to tell the story of the journey in the making of the film, but also to discuss passion, cultural divides and more.

Buried Seeds, a film by Andrei Severny, is a timeless and true story of human passion, willpower, and resolve in the face of adversity. The film follows Michelin Star Chef Vikas Khanna on his journey as an immigrant. Born with clubbed feet in Amritsar, Vikas is bullied by his classmates. Khanna takes refuge in his grandmothers kitchen and discovers his passion for the vivid traditions of Indian cuisine. At the age of 29, Vikas moves to New York with nothing in his pocket and ends up in a homeless shelter. Through years of struggle and hard work Vikas opens his first Indian restaurant in Manhattan. Vikas Khanna grows to become one of the most influential chefs in the world and a cultural ambassador of his nation. While wealth and glory may be transient, what truly defines him is the will to create himself every single day.

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PODCAST | Chiara Nicoletti interviews Martin McDonagh, director of the film Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri.

Irish filmmaker Martin McDonagh presented his latest work, Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri, in competition at the 74th Venice International Film Festival. We caught up with the director to talk about this darkly comic tale of a grieving mother, played by the great actress Frances McDormand, driven by an implacable thirst for justice. McDonagh discusses the crucial process of casting and the great work done by the cast (which also features Woody Harrelson and Sam Rockwell, among others), the challenge of writing a screenplay with a female protagonist, and more.

Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri is a darkly comic drama from Academy Award winner Martin McDonagh. After months have passed without finding a culprit in her daughter’s murder case, Mildred Hayes makes a bold move, painting three signs leading into her town with a controversial message directed at William Willoughby, the town’s revered chief of police. When his second-in-command Officer Dixon, an immature mummy’s boy with a penchant for violence, gets involved, the battle between Mildred and Ebbing’s law enforcement is only exacerbated.

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PODCAST | Matt Micucci interviews John Branca, co–director of the film Estate of Michael Jackson.

John Branca, co-executor of Estate of Michael Jackson, was in Venice at the 74th Venice International Film Festival for the special screening of Thriller, the iconic John Landis directed short film starring Michael Jackson. The film has been restored in 3D: this was the version that was presented at the Lido, one of the highlights of the film and music program at this year’s Venice International Film Festival. We speak with him about the process of restoration and the history of the film, which remains very popular to this day, and has time and time again been described as “game-changing.”

Estate of Michael Jackson: the iconic short film begins with Michael and his date watching a horror film. After leaving mid-way through the movie, they are walking through deserted streets and graveyards where ghosts and ghouls rise in the mist. Michael’s character is more than just a protective boyfriend. The film features one of the most beloved and recreated dance scenes of all time. Michael, surrounded by zombies, is at the height of his powers as a performer and star. In creating Michael Jackson’s Thriller 3D, the process began with Michael’s own original 35 mm film negative, which was not reedited or recut in any way, and resulted in a 3D conversion of the acclaimed film using the latest available technology.

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PODCAST | Chiara Nicoletti interviews James Toback, director of the film The Private Life of a Modern Woman.

James Toback presented his latest film, The Private Life of a Modern Woman, out of competition at the 74th Venice International Film Festival. He stopped by our studio in Venice to talk about it. He tells us that he has been a fan of Sienna Miller, the lead actress of the film, for many years and, indeed, that the film was conceived and written for her. Toback also talks about the dreamlike feel of the movie, and more.

The Private Life of a Modern Woman:  Vera Lockman, a successful actress, living alone in a stunning New York loft, thrashes during a nightmare in which she struggles with, shoots and kills her drug-dealer, ex-boyfriend, Sal. Jolted awake, she reveals in her journal that the killing in her nightmare actually occurred the day before and that Sal, dead, lies in a trunk in her living room. Leon, Vera’s lover, arrives and is dismissed, permanently. Franklin, a filmmaker/ friend, stops by, concerned. He grills Vera, provoking confusion and a hint of dread. Vera drives the trunk to an isolated area and rolls it into a lake. She returns to her loft and is startled by a narcotics detective, McCutcheon, who asks about Sal. Vera believes that McCutcheon accepts her false story. Vera serves dinner to her beloved but decaying grandfather, Arthur, and her mother, Elaine. Carl Icahn, Arthur’s former high school classmate, stops by afterward. Vera and Carl connect emotionally. The next day Vera, calm for the first time, writes. Her mood is shattered by the crescendo of police sirens. She springs to the window and sees McCutcheon. Their eyes meet. Arrest awaits her.

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PODCAST | Chiara Nicoletti interviews George Clooney, Julianne Moore, Matt Damon and Alexandre Desplat, director, actors and composer of the film Suburbicon.

George Clooney presented Suburbicon in competition at the 74th Venice International Film Festival. The film is based on a Coen Brothers screenplay and features among its cast Julianne Moore and Matt Damon. It was also scored by Alexandre Desplat, who not too long ago headed the cometition jury of this very same festival. All three mentioned stopped by our studio for a quick chat about the film, answering questions about their characters, the power of cynical comedies, and more.

Suburbicon is a peaceful, idyllic suburban community with affordable homes and manicured lawns… the perfect place to raise a family, and in the summer of 1959, the Lodge family is doing just that. But the tranquil surface masks a disturbing reality, as husband and father Gardner Lodge must navigate the town’s dark underbelly of betrayal, deceit, and violence. This is a tale of very flawed people making very bad choices. This is Suburbicon.

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PODCAST | Nicolò Comotti interviews Emre Yeksan,  director of the film The Gulf.

FRED has the pleasure to meet Emre Yeksan, director of The Gulf, here in Venice in the International Critic’s Week selection.

The Gulf: leaving behind a ruined career and a bitter divorce, Selim returns to his hometown Izmir. Unwilling to make plans for the future, he wanders around revisiting his past: family, schoolmates, an ex-lover. He runs into Cihan, a friend from the military service, an idler with a charming energy. As people start leaving Izmir due to a terrible smell caused by a mysterious maritime accident, Selim finds himself gradually drawn to a new world where he will go back embracing the possibilities of life.

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PODCAST | Nicolò Comotti interviews Tzahi Grad and Ala Dakka, director and actor of the film Ha Ben Dod.

Tzahi Grad and Ala Dakka join us in our Venice studio for a brief and yet intense introduction to their film Ha Ben Dod, a portrayal of a big issue through the lives of a small reality in Israel.

Ha Ben Dod : a well-intentioned Arab-Muslim handyman upends the day-to-day lives of the locals in a small Israeli village. Shortly after his arrival, a young woman is assaulted and the community quickly turns accusatory. His employer is the only one who believes him, but even those loyalties are tested as more information and secrets are uncovered.

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PODCAST | Nicolò Comotti interviews Frederick Wiseman, director of the film Ex Libris – The New York Public Library.

FRED has the honour of meeting Frederick Wiseman, once again at the Lido with his latest work Ex Libris – New York Public Library.

Ex Libris – New York Public Library: Frederick Wiseman’s film, Ex Libris – The New York Public Library, goes behind the scenes of one of the greatest knowledge institutions of the world. The film reveals the library as a place of welcome, cultural exchange and learning to 18 million patrons and 32 million online visitors annually. There are 92 library branches throughout Manhattan, the Bronx and Staten Island. The NYPL is committed to being a resource for all the inhabitants of this multifaceted and cosmopolitan city. It is accessible, open to everyone and exemplifies the deeply rooted American belief in the individual’s right to know and be informed. The library is one of the most democratic institutions in America—all races, social classes and ethnicities are welcome and are active participants in the life and work of the library. The library strives to inspire learning, advance knowledge and strengthen communities.

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PODCAST | Nicolò Comotti interviews Verena Paravel and Lucien Castaing Taylor,  directors of the film Caniba.

Verena Paravel and Lucien Castaing-Taylor are the directors of Caniba, a documentary on the life and psyche of Isei Sagawa, a man who satisfied a primordial instinct of humanity: anthropophagy.

Caniba is a fresco about flesh and desire. It reflects on the discomforting significance of cannibalism in human existence through the prism of one Japanese man, Issei Sagawa, and his mysterious relationship with his brother, Jun Sagawa.

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