FRED Film Radio - English Channel

PODCAST | Matt Micucci interviews Neil McGlone, co-curator of the program A Sunday in Bologna.

This year, Il Cinema Ritrovato featured a strand made up of films that take place on Sundays. The strand was curated by Neil McGlone and director Alexander Payne. Payne was unable to attend. Luckily, McGlone was in Bologna to introduce the movies, and we caught up with him there. In this interview, we talk about where the concept for the “A Sunday in Bologna” strand originated. McGlone also mentions each film in the strand, giving us an idea of the great variety of movies featured in it – some better know, such as It Always Rains on Sunday, and others quite rare, like the made-for-TV Sunday Pranks by Robert Glinski.

For the official website of the festival, click here.

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PODCAST | Matt Micucci interviews Lisa Stein Haven, about the program Chaplin and the Beat Generation.

Lisa Stein Haven is presenting a program titled Chaplin and the Beat Generation at the 31st edition of Il Cinema Ritrovato in Bologna. The program is a subset of some of her research on the 50’s and 60’s and Chaplin in America, and the ways in which the Beat writers and poets of the time reinvigorated Charlie Chaplin’s Little Tramp persona in America. Figures such as Allen Ginsberg and Lawrence Ferlinghetti felt a huge connection with Chaplin’s Little Tramp. How did this connection show up and influence their works? Besides this, Lisa tells us about what Chaplin himself was doing at the time – what films he was making and whether his earlier works were being seen, as well as what the reaction of the general public was to Chaplin at this time. Furthermore, she also takes the time to share with us her thoughts on Il Cinema Ritrovato, and early memory of experiencing something truly special at it, and a film from the 2017 program that she looks forward to watching.

For the official website of the festival, click here.

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PODCAST | Angelo Acerbi interviews Petersen Vargas, director of the film 2 cool 2 be 4gotten.

Petersen Vargas, whose film won the Audience Award at Lovers Film Festival 32, is celebrating the world premiere of the film in Torino, and the happiness of showing it to an auduence that can undersatnd the effort and the meaning of it. A fresh and sweet tale of love and coming of age, in a school system antique and rigid, written by the most praised screenwriter of his country.

2 cool 2 be 4gotten: late 90’s, Philippines. In the city of Angeles, which is returning to normal after the catastrophic eruption of volcano Pinatubo, Felix attends tenth grade with good grades. He does not have any friends, but this does not worry him, because his aim is to be top of the class and to move away once he graduates. His life takes a new, unexpected direction when the Snyder brothers arrive. Magnus and Maxim are the children of a local prostitute and an American soldier, whom they wish to join in the United States. Felix is attracted to their aura of coolness, due to their Philippine and American origins. As the acquaintance with Maxim and, in particular, with Magnus, turns into friendship, Felix is troubled by complex and unknown emotions. These feelings will lead him to create a bond with the two brothers and discover the mysteries that they hide, which he will end up fighting against.

For the official website of the festival, click here.

The post Petersen Vargas – 2 cool 2 be 4gotten #LFF17 appeared first on Fred Film Radio.

PODCAST | Angelo Acerbi interviews Pekka Strang, actor of the film Tom of Finland.

Pekka Strang is the lead actor of the biopic about Tom of Finland; he plays the illustrator himself, throughout the tale of the man’s life, from his beginnings in Finland to his over-the-top life in Los Angeles. Pekka was initially worried about playing such a huge personality, from his own country. Here he tells us how he found the right way to do it.

Tom of Finland: finally on the big screen, a biography of Tom of Finland, the brilliant illustrator who contributed to inventing and recording the imagery of the leather fetish: leather, uni- forms, muscles, giant penises. The years of his youth in rural Finland, where there did not seem to be a place for gay people like him. Then came the Second World War, which allowed him to discover his fascination with powerful and authoritarian male beauty, of which he found examples among his fellow soldiers and among the enemy troops. After the war, he moved to Helsinki, where he lived and worked as an advertising designer with his sister Kaija: here he created his iconic pictures, which were seen all over the world even though homoerotic pornography was illegal everywhere, and made him a timeless artist. And then there is his relationship with dancer Veli, which would last their lives, despite the disapproval of his sister and the backward views of Finnish society.

For the official website of the festival, click here.

The post Pekka Strang – Tom of Finland #LFF17 appeared first on Fred Film Radio.

PODCAST | Angelo Acerbi interviews John Trengove, director of the film The Wound.

John Trengove, recipient of the award for Best Feature Film at the Lovers Film Festival 32, talks with us about the unexpected attention the film is getting worldwide. It was an urgent film to make, the only possible film with a gay subject he thought made sense in South Africa. A difficult journey with a rewarding arrival.

The Wound: Eastern South Africa. A group of teenagers, from the Khosa ethnic group, are preparing for the ukwaluka, a rite of passage to adulthood, consisting of circumcisions that take place during a period of isolation in the mountains. Kwanda, a rich, westernized boy, is one of them. Forced to take part in the rite by his father, a traditionalist, who is displeased by the “feebleness” of his son, kwanda is unable to adapt easily to an environment so full of latent aggression and flaunted maleness. Xolani, a 30-year-old worker, a loner and introvert, who is the khaukatha, or mentor, of the group, immediately takes a liking to him and takes care of him. But Kwanda realizes that Xolani is hiding something, a kind of wound that has never healed and that will bleed once again. A courageous and dark bildungsroman, John Trengrove’s debut feature film is a continuation of his short film iBhokhwe, presented at Lovers FF in 2014.

For the official website of the festival, click here.

The post John Trengove – The Wound #LFF17 appeared first on Fred Film Radio.

PODCAST | Angelo Acerbi interviews Patricia Potter, actress of the film Just Charlie.

Patricia Potter plays the role of the mother of Charlie, a regular kid with a gender issue that cannot be hidden anymore. She is a genuinely sweet and funny woman, a mother in real life too and an actress with sensibility and wit. Here we can find out her thoughts about embracing diversities and the need for happiness. But you can listen yourself. And enjoy!

Just Charlie: Charlie is a boy who, like so many others, loves football. But he has an innate talent: when he has a ball at his feet, nobody can stop him. When he’s offered a spot in a top club, his father has no doubts and does all he can to make him accept it. He’s not motivated by the need to ensure a successful future for his son or by a father’s pride, but by a desire to compensate for his own failed football career. However, Charlie is happier when he is secretly hiding in the woods, wearing girls’ clothes, than when he’s on the football field. Very soon, this desire to freely express his physical identity will create a dramatic conflict with what his family and friends have chosen for him. But he only wants to be Charlie, just Charlie. A coming-of-age story, that is painful but not without hope.

For the official website of the festival, click here.

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PODCAST | Melita Cameron-Wood interviews Manfredi Mancuso and Domenico Della Valle, co-directors of the Crossing The Screen International Film Festival.

Here Melita Cameron-Wood meets Manfredi Mancuso and Domenico Della Valle, festival directors of Crossing The Screen International Film Festival in Eastbourne, East Sussex. The official festival takes place annually from November 4th-6th, but the pair have just organised a festival tour to give the filmmakers in their official selection greater exposure throughout the year. Melita met them after one of their tour screenings to discuss the pair’s hopes for the future of the festival and the reasons behind their selection of Eastbourne as a festival location. While many might deem the town an unlikely location to host an event such as an International Film Festival, the festival directors see this as a welcome challenge as they aim to create a place for local and international filmmakers to engage with each other and find future collaborative partnerships. Their high aims can be seen in their slogan – ‘Eastbourne, the next Cannes on the British Riviera’ – and this interview delves into where the pair wish to see their festival in five years time and how they hope this will impact the local community as well as the international one. The festival aims to showcase up and coming talents and give a platform to those who might not otherwise get a chance to share their work with wider audiences. Inclusion and the creation of a positive environment in which cultural achievements can be encouraged, commended and enjoyed by many are the central aims of the festival. Should any listeners wish to find out more, Crossing The Screen encourages filmmakers and people wishing to volunteer to contact them directly via email at [email protected] or [email protected] or alternatively follow them on Facebook for updates.

Crossing The Screen is an international film festival, meant to showcase innovative and independent forms of visual art from all over the world. The festival is devoted to discovering and celebrating unique voices and up-and-coming new cinema talents, who are not afraid to transcend traditional storytelling.

For the official website of the festival, click here.

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PODCAST | Cristiana Palmieri interviews Shahrbanoo Sadat, director and screenwriter of the film Wolf and sheep.

Shahrbanoo Sadat talks about how her life as an Afghan refugee in Iran and subsequently her relocation to the remote village in Central Afghanistan has inspired this autobiographical recount of rural life intertwined with mithology and mistery.

Wolf and sheep is set in rural Afghanistan, where simple village life is enlivened with stories of mystery and imagination. Our view into this timeless community is through its children, who mimic the adults in their gossiping and lewd language. Boys and girls don’t mix but, defying the rules, outsiders Qodrat and Sediqa develop a beautiful friendship. Using a cast of non-actors, Sadat has created a unique view of Afghanistan replete with all the mundanities and difficulties of life, but also with myth and magic: tales are told of a wolf who walks on two legs, discarding its skin to emerge as a beautiful green fairy.

For the official page of the film on the festival website, click here.

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PODCAST | Matt Micucci interviews Eileen Hofer, director of the film Horizons, from the 16th Transilvania International Film Festival.

Director Eileen Hofer talks about her documentary feature Horizons, presented at the 16th Transilvania Film Festival. The film has traveled to numerous festivals all over the world for a while and had captured the hearts of many. It is truly an inspiring story, which tells the tale of three generations of Cuban ballerinas, one of which is that of the legendary prima ballerina Alicia Alonso. Horizons is also enriched by the use of archive documentary. Nonetheless, the film was not made without challenges, and Hofer tells us some of them. Among its merits, Horizons has that of disproving the validity of the common expression “it ain’t ballet”; indeed, the documentary shows the blood, sweat, tears, and sacrifice that this particular world entails. Though she admits that she had no personal connection with ballet, the fact remains that Hofer’s Horizons is an inspiring movie that also feels like a work of love. Besides Horizons, we find time to talk about her latest short, that has already been screened elsewhere – it’s called Russian Salad.

Horizons: through three different generations of Cuban ballet dancers, Eileen Hofer explores love and passion for dance. Three strong women who completely dedicated their lives for ballet – the legend Alicia Alonso, prima ballerina assoluta, now 93; Viengsay Valdes, at the beginning of her international career; and young Amanda, who is dreaming about entering the ballet school. Together, their stories give an enchanting glimpse of the ballet world.

The post Eileen Hofer – Horizons #TIFF2017 appeared first on Fred Film Radio.

PODCAST | Matt Micucci interviews Gonzalo Delgado, co-director and actor of the film Dolphins Go East, from the 16th Transilvania International Film Festival.

Gonzalo Delgado co-directed and co-write the film Dolphins Go East with Veronica Perrota, which was presented at the 16th Transilvania International Film Festival. Delgado also acts in one of the key supporting roles of the film (while Perrota plays the part of the female protagonist). But this interview focuses on his directing and writing techniques, and when we discuss his acting, we do so in order to understand whether it is difficult for him to include this other task in the midst of his film production. Delgado also shares with us his thoughts about some of the key themes of the film. The first and inevitable one is a brief discussion on the leading gay father and grown up daughter duo – progressively common in real life but still somewhat new in cinema – and why lying is a central element in the narrative of Dolphins Go East.

Dolphins Go East: Miguel Angel Garcia Mazziotti, a decadent gay figure from Rio de la Plata, is visited by his daughter Virginia, with whom he has been estranged for years. “El Gordo,” as everyone calls him, openly rejects Virginia’s visit until he learns that he is going to be a grandfather. Thus they share a true family weekend, but the time they spend together will come with surprises.

The post Gonzalo Delgado – Dolphins Go East #TIFF2017 appeared first on Fred Film Radio.