FRED Film Radio - English Channel

PODCAST | Chiara Nicoletti interviews Florian Weghorn, Programme Manager of Berlinale Talents.

The Berlinale Talents’ programme have just been released and programme manager Florian Weghorn is back on FRED to describe all the steps that have brought to this outstanding result. Every year, at the Berlinale Talents there’s a thematic focus on which all the activities, panels and initiatives are inspired by. The 15th anniversary of the Talents introduces a very important focus: ‘Courage: Against All Odds’ and we can’t help but agree with the Florian Weghorn that this couldn’t feel timelier. On the 3rd year of a very important and successful partnership between FRED and Berlinale Talents, to be promoting courage in the cinema arts is a cause we could never miss. As in the previous years, there’s a growing network of successful Alumni coming back to the Talents to share their experience. Among them, director Ana Lily Amarpour and cinematographer Diego Garcia. There will also be what the Talents defined as “Courageous Encounters” with special guests such as this year Berlinale jury President Paul Verhoeven. 93 Films made with the contribution of 131 alumni are screening at the Berlinale and they are still counting, according to Florian Weghorn. So, Be courageous!

Berlinale Talents is an initiative of the Berlin International Film Festival, a business division of the Kulturveranstaltungen des Bundes in Berlin GmbH, funded by the Federal Government Commissioner for Culture and the Media, in cooperation with Creative Europe MEDIA, a programme of the European Union, the Robert Bosch Stiftung and Medienboard Berlin-Brandenburg. It was initiated in 2003. In addition to the extensive summit programme of master classes and panel discussions with top-notch experts, Berlinale Talents offers a range of Project Labs in which you can further develop and present your own project. Berlinale Talents also provides Studio programmes and workshops for specific groups of film professionals. As an initiative of the Berlin International Film Festival, the entire event is closely linked with the programmes of the festival sections and the European Film Market. While the roots of Berlinale Talents are firmly planted in Berlin new shoots of the initiative have been sprouting internationally. These Talents International editions, Talents Beirut in Lebanon, Talents Buenos Aires in Argentina, Talents Guadalajara in Mexico, Talents Durban in South Africa, Talents Sarajevo in Bosnia-Herzegovina and Talents Tokyo in Japan have the familiar structure and purpose of their German counterpart; all the while retaining a regional perspective and finding support and the necessary amenities in a locally based international film festival. Talents initiatives are supported by local partners as well as by the Goethe-Institut.

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PODCAST | Chiara Nicoletti interviews Pilar Orero, head of Transmedia Catalonia.

As the 7th edition of ARSAD, The Advanced Research Seminar on Audio Description is approaching, it is time to talk about accessibility and all the other initiatives that have been created to implement it. Pilar Orero is the woman behind ARSAD as she founded it in 2007 and she’s now head of Transmedia Catalonia. With Pilar Orero we discover the origins of ARSAD, its growing importance and we have the chance to talk about MAP and ACT. Map, the Media Accessibility Platform, is a unified atlas charting the worldwide landscape of research, policies, training and practices in this field. MAP aims to make media accessible to all, regardless of sensorial and linguistic barriers. ACT is an European funded project and its idea is to define the activities and train people who will the ones in charge of media accessibility in theatres, cinemas, museums and so on.

Since its beginning in 2007, the international seminar on audio description ARSAD has been a meeting point for all key agents interested in both research and practice in audio description. Its sixth edition, to be held in Barcelona on March 16th (all day) and 17th (morning) 2017, aims to take stock of recent advances while looking at the future of the field. ARSAD 2017 would like to engage practitioners, researchers, trainers, trainees, regulators, broadcasters, users, social activists, cultural managers, and anyone interested in audio description in a fruitful discussion on the past, present and future of audio description.

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PODCAST | Matt Micucci interviews Sophie Goyette, director of MES NUITS FERONT ÉCHO from the 46th International Film Festival Rotterdam.

MES NUITS FERONT ÉCHO (English title: Still Night, Still Light) is the first feature film by Sophie Goyette. The film’s turning points seem to revolve around dreams. Goyette shares with us her views on dreams. But another fascinating aspect of the movie is its variety of cultural and geographical backgrounds, the mixture of which greatly affects the movie. Interestingly, Goyette reveals that this was a challenge that she posed for herself: she had never visited many of the places in which the film is shot. This introduces a concept of personal cinema that lurks behind the works of her filmmaking works, and perhaps affects them. MES NUITS FERONT ÉCHO is the first feature film by Sophie Goyette. The film’s turning points seem to revolve around dreams. Goyette shares with us her views on dreams. But another fascinating aspect of the movie is its variety of cultural and geographical backgrounds, the mixture of which greatly affects the movie. Interestingly, Goyette reveals that this was a challenge that she posed for herself: she had never visited many of the places in which the film is shot. This introduces a concept of personal cinema that lurks behind the works of her filmmaking works, and perhaps affects them.

MES NUITS FERONT ÉCHO: Across Americas and Asia, three characters from different cultures and generations are at a turning point in their lives. The key to their questioning may lie in their dreams. This delicate film feeds our sense of regret and existential longing with nocturnal poetry, melancholy and humour.

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PODCAST | Matt Micucci interviews Sanal Kumar Sasidharan, director of SEXY DURGA, winner of the top prize at the 46th International Film Festival Rotterdam.

Sanal Kumar Sasidharan’s concept, a blunt observation of the Indian male society, is a filmmaker’s response of outraged and shame to such horrific events as gang rapes and the irony of a country that praises female goddesses but treats real women like junk. In his film, SEXY DURGA, he wanted to avoid using the concept for the benefit of a traditional storyline. In many ways, there is not story in SEXY DURGA, and certainly, there was no narrative planning, as he explains in our interview. He also tells us about his choice of incorporating real footage from the Durga Festival, and the technical challenges of undertaking this kind of project.

SEXY DURGA won the Hivos Tiger Award at the 46th International Film Festival Rotterdam.

SEXY DURGA: Goddess or whore? Two extreme views of women intermingle in this largely improvised spine-chiller. During a nocturnal ride, a young woman and her lover encounter a cross-section of Indian male society. What starts out as an attempt to escape descends into a journey through hell – from which no escape is possible.

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PODCAST | Matt Micucci interviews director Petr Lom and poet Mae Yway on BURMA STORYBOOK from the 47th International Film Festival Rotterdam.

Burma is a land of poetry. BURMA STORYBOOK, is a film that tries to collect these stories. But also, a documentary on Burmese storytelling and poetry is a powerful thing because of the political importance that poetry played, and continues to play in Burma. It is testified, in the film, by the physical presence of Myanmar activist and poet Maung Aung Pwint, whom we discuss in this interview as well. It is also talked about, in this interview, by the poet Mae Yway, who also collaborated on the film. The film also complements the poetry visually, through a stunning work of photography. In our chat, Lom mentions the word “grace,” and that is a word that can easily be used to describe BURMA STORYBOOK as a whole. We talk about the technical aspect of the film, what personally drew the director to Burma, and much more.

BURMA STORYBOOK: Poet and activist from Myanmar Maung Aung Pwint has spent large swathes of his life in prison. Now the country is free after 50 years of military dictatorship, he reminisces and struggles with painful memories. A poetic, loving documentary about a country reinventing itself.

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PODCAST | Matt Micucci interviews Min-Wei Ting, director of I’M COMING UP from the 46th International Film Festival Rotterdam.

I‘M COMING UP, by Min-Wei Ting, was screened at the 2017 International Film Festival Rotterdam. This is a film with a simple story: a single shot, 89 minutes long, that takes us from the bottom of a building to the top of the building. People, on the other hand, who naturally are almost always at the forefront of every film, are almost like a disruption. I‘M COMING UP is, therefore cinema on the edge, right at the limit, that delights in submitting him to an immersive (and maybe oppressive) experience. It also places a building, and architecture, at the forefront of a film. What are the challenges of undertaking such a project? What inspired Min-Wei Ting to make this film in the first place? The incredible soundscape of the movie contributes greatly to the effect of this viewing experience, which in many ways is unique, so we also ask him about this aspect of I‘M COMING UP.

I’M COMING UP: Is it a computer game or actually a documentary report? Endless reconnoitering of a gigantic apartment complex in the night, along balconies, corridors and stairs, from bottom to top, turns into a hallucinogenic trip. In the face of desolate, visual monotony is an eclectic, extremely layered soundtrack filled with concrete sounds. Alienation all the way.

The post Min-Wei Ting – I’m Coming Up #IFFR2017 appeared first on Fred Film Radio.

PODCAST | Matt Micucci interviews Mars Roberge, director of SCUMBAG from the 46th International Film Festival Rotterdam.

Drawing on his own personal experiences, asa DJ working in a telemarketing office in the 90’s, Mars Roberge has made more than just a film: he has created a cinematic revolution. For and with SCUMBAG, he has, in fact, created a whole new genre, which he has named “rocktopia,” and for which he drew up an entire manifesto. This interview also stands to show his passion and excitement for the film, which is a fun, funny, exciting, wild movie that has been called a “a dark, DIY, take-it-or-leave-it comedy with a musical pulse.” The film is, in fact, certainly not formulaic and often unpredictable, breaking the rules and testing the limits of the cinematic medium in its own way. We get a real insightful behind the scenes talk about the experience of making the movie, of where the characters and situations of SCUMBAG came from, the importance of music in his vision, and much more.

SCUMBAG: A young hipster fights for his sanity as he joins a telemarketing company, full of crazy workers, ex-convicts and murderers. It’s anarchy on the phone line and in this dark comedy on self-fulfilment under extreme conditions, showcasing a plethora of legendary faces from the US underground culture.

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PODCAST | Matt Micucci interviews Kevin Phillips, director of SUPER DARK TIMES, from the 46th International Film Festival Rotterdam.

Kevin Phillips presented his fiction feature directorial debut, SUPER DARK TIMES, at the International Film Festival Rotterdam 2017. Here, he explores such themes as youth, masculinity and friendships. Without giving too much away, he tells us why he was attracted by Ben Collins and Luke Piotrowski’s screenplay as well as why he thinks many first films by some of the best filmmakers deal with youth and childhood. Phillips comes from a cinematography background. Because SUPER DARK TIMES is his feature directorial debut, we ask him about how he works and what his approach to filmmaking is.

SUPER DARK TIMES: A terrible accident transforms best friends from high school Zach and Josh into enemies. This ambitious thriller is set in the American suburbs of the early 1990s – the pre-Columbine era. A refreshing debut, searching for the boundaries between adolescence and adulthood, courage and fear, good and evil.

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PODCAST | Matt Micucci interviews Juri Rechinsky, director of UGLY from the 46th International Film Festival Rotterdam.

UGLY marks the fiction feature debut of filmmaker Juri Rechinsky. In this interview he tells us that it is not meant to be a “pleasant” film. It was also a difficult film to make for reasons that he talks about in this film. Ultimately, one of its key intentions is to expose the audience to a reality, which he believes is that “the core problem is the same: we are afraid of dying, we are afraid of losing people we love and we have no chance to avoid it.” Working on UGLY was also important for him on a personal level. Furthermore, there is a reason why he feels drawn to this specific time of concept, subject and context. In this interview, he tells us what reason is.

UGLY: Following an accident, Hanna from Austria, who is in a relationship with Jura from Kiev, ends up in hospital in Ukraine with a fractured skull. In wonderful tableaux, shot by Ulrich Seidl’s regular cameraman Wolfgang Thaler, this oppressive debut by Rechinskyshows the pain of existence on the periphery of Europe.

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PODCAST | Matt Micucci interviews Debra Haden, actress of SCUMBAG by Mars Roberge, from the 46th International Film Festival Rotterdam.

In Mars Roberge’s film SCUMBAG, which had its premiere at the 2017 International Film Festival Rotterdam, actress Debra Haden plays the role of a former loose cannon who encourages her boyfriend to lead a straight life, but finds that her encouragements contributes to causing problems in their relationship. The film is wild, fun and in many ways rebellious, and it seems that it was shot that way too. The emotional intensity of the film required Haden to go from shooting a joyful musical sequence to crying in short period of time. We ask her about the challenges of working in this envoronment, but also about the incredible collaborative atmosphere and friendship of the set. Besides SCUMBAG and acting, we also take some time to talk about her other projects, including an interesting animation one and work in fashion design.

SCUMBAG: A young hipster fights for his sanity as he joins a telemarketing company, full of crazy workers, ex-convicts and murderers. It’s anarchy on the phone line and in this dark comedy on self-fulfilment under extreme conditions, showcasing a plethora of legendary faces from the US underground culture.

The post Debra Haden – Scumbag #IFFR2017 appeared first on Fred Film Radio.