FRED Film Radio - English Channel

PODCAST | Matt Micucci interviews Ben Wheatley, director of The Ghoul, presented at the 2016 BFI London Film Festival.

We met director Ben Wheatley to talk about his film The Ghoul, presented in the Thrill section of the 60th BFI London Film Festival.

In this interview, he reveals to us that at the origins of the film was an idea to make a movie, among other things, about depression. This fact alone introduces the fact that The Ghoul is certainly not afraid to visit some dark territories.

In fact, one of the most interesting features of the film is its structure, which takes the viewer down a tortuous path in which we are left wondering about what is real and what isn’t about what is revealed to us of the world of the film’s leading character, Chris, played by Tom Meeten. What are the challenges of constructing a film like that? We ask Wheatley this and more in our podcast interview.

THE GHOUL. Low budget Brit thriller, The Ghoul is an atmospheric slow-burn crime film more interested in psychology and the occult than in solving crimes. Tom Meeten’s detective Chris is called to investigate a mysterious, possible double murder. Discovering clues in the house of a shadowy suspect, he goes undercover as a patient to see the suspect’s psychotherapist. But our understanding of Chris is quickly turned on its head as we get inside his, with Meeten excelling in portraying his character’s complex duality. Gareth Tunley, who previously starred in Kill List and Down Terrace, turns director here and his intricate plots pay homage to the illustrious lineage of British genre-bending directors that includes Wheatley, Nic Roeg and Christopher Nolan. Gathering comedy royalty and friends (Alice Lowe, Niamh Cusack, Paul Kaye, Rufus Jones, Dan Renton Skinner and Geoffrey McGivern), Tunley proves himself adept at turning limited resources into a British indie debut of great style and invention.

The post Ben Wheatley – The Ghoul #LFF2016 appeared first on Fred Film Radio.

PODCAST | Matt Micucci interviews Alice Diop, director of On Call, presented at the 60th BFI London Film Festival.

On Call was filmed by director Alice Diop at a walk-in service for asylum seekers in a hospital near Paris. The service is one of only a few like it, and is run by people who are really dedicated and passionate about the cause. It’s worrying it think that it is also a service that might be lacking in various other parts of the world, not only France.

On Call, directed by Diop and presented in the Documentary Competition section of the 60th BFI London Film Festival is timely also because the refugee crisis is a subject of constant debate. One of the things Diop succeeds in doing in her focused and unflinching documentary is humanize the topic of immigration by having the camera focused with no cuts on the intertwining events and lives of the patients who walk into the hospital rooms, all carrying their own emotional baggages along with their physical ills and troubles.

Our interview focuses on a number of key aspects, such as her own words to describe the particular choice of style employed in the making of the film and how she was able to get access to the location and film the patients as well as getting so close to them.

ON CALL. For this topical documentary, Alice Diop spent a year at the walk-in service for asylum seekers in Avicenne hospital, near Paris. Arriving in a state of physical and mental exhaustion, often traumatised by their exile and the limbo they’re kept in while seeking asylum, a succession of men and women arrive to seek treatment, some medicine or solace from the outside world. Filmed in static shots in the claustraphobia of a hospital room, the film captures dozens of consultations, giving voice to each new arrival who tells their personal, often harrowing story. It immediately personalises each patient, taking them out of the chilling anonymity they experience daily. The film also highlights the restrictions the doctors face, working with few resources to alleviate the overwhelming misery they witness with each consultation. On Call is a film of profound humanity that underlines the limits of our societies.

The post Alice Diop – On Call #LFF2016 appeared first on Fred Film Radio.

PODCAST | Chiara Nicoletti interviews Damien Chazelle, director and Emma Stone, actress of La La Land, the opening film of the 73rd Venice Film Festival.

LA LA LAND tells the story of Mia, an aspiring actress, and Sebastian, a dedicated jazz musician, who are struggling to make ends meet in a city known for crushing hopes and breaking hearts. Set in modern day Los Angeles, this original musical about everyday life explores the joy and pain of pursuing ones dreams.

The post La La Land, winner of the Golden Lion #Venezia73 appeared first on Fred Film Radio.

PODCAST | Filmmaker Bruce La Bruce is interviewed by participants of 28 Times Cinema at the 73rd Venice Film Festival.

Filmmaker Bruce La Bruce (Gerontophilia, Pierrot Lunaire) was the president of the jury at this year’s edition of Venice Days. He tool some time to talk about his art with some of the participants of this year’s 28 Times Cinema, the components of the jury. The interview is conducted by Cora Frisching, and she was assisted by Eva Liisa Sepp, Beth Hayden, and Kiyan Agadjani.

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PODCAST | Listen to a clip from Vladas Rožėnas, Lithuanian ambassador at the 2016 edition of 28 Times Cinema at Venezia 73.

To listen to the podcast, click on the ► icon on the right, just above the picture

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PODCAST | Matt Micucci interviews Vatche Boulghourjian, director, and Cynthia Zaven, composer of the film Tramontane from the 60th BFI London Film Festival.

A Lebanese young man, a blind musician looking to go on a tour of Europe with his choir, suddenly and accidentally finds out that he may not be who he thinks he is – or who he was told he is – when he encounters problems upon requesting a new passport. This is the starting point of Tramontane, directed by Vatche Boulghourjian, which tells a story about identity and past, but also of music and family among other things.

We ask him about his decision of having a blind character as the central character of Tramontane and he reveals the ways in which he used this element but also how this blindness affected the ways in which the film was made and, revealingly, how it was shot. In his answer, he also talks about the fantastic performance of the actor playing said character, who really is blind in his life as well as a talented musician.

Speaking of music, as mentioned earlier, music is a very important element in the film, also because it comes straight from the Lebanese tradition. This is why it was priceless to be joined by the music supervisor and composer of the film’s score, Cynthia Zaven. It is she who reveals that Boulghourjian is a musician himself, though he humbly refuses to be called a musician.

Nevertheless, his sensibilities to the dramatic nature of Lebanese music certainly influences this film as a whole, fittingly places in the BFI London Film Festival’s section named Journey, as it is indeed a journey – the journey of a man looking for his origins and making plenty of discoveries along the way.

TRAMONTANE. Things begin to unravel unexpectedly when young blind musician Rabih applies for a passport to go on tour with his choir – doubt is cast on whether his documents are real, setting into motion a quest for his true identity. Rabih’s mother is unable to give him answers, whilst his uncle, once a celebrated general, disappears as Rabih’s questions multiply. As he sets out for villages across Lebanon in search of the truth, we begin to understand the sheer magnitude of the layers of collective silence that permeate the country’s recent past. In his first acting role, real-life musician Barakat Jabbour’s portrayal of Rabih’s drive and persistence is deeply moving, and his musical performances are magnetic and defiant. Boulghourjian’s poetic and sensitive debut, which premiered in Cannes’ Critics’ Week, is also a poignant reminder of the role of culture and storytelling in relaying truths and understanding the amnesia that surrounds complex histories.

The post Vatche Boulghourjian, Cynthia Zaven – Tramontane #LFF2016 appeared first on Fred Film Radio.

PODCAST | Matt Micucci interviews Khushboo Ranka and Vinay Shukla, director of An Insignificant Man from the 60th BFI London Film Festival.

Who is Arvind Kejriwal? In short, he was an outsider that successfully infiltrated Indian politics and went from being a whistleblower to a representative of the people in the Indian elections. Kejriwal, regarded a controversial and outspoken figure in Indian politics, is also the central subject of the documentary An Insignificant Man, directed and produced by Khushboo Ranka, Vinay Shukla, who we met with for an interview at the 60th BFI London Film Festival, where the film was screened in teh documentary competition.

They give us portrait of the man, who might be unfamiliar to international audiences, which is why we also ask them how they came to know that An Insignificant man would tell a story that could indeed be told to an international audience. We ask them about the filmmaking process, how they were able to get so close to Kejriwal and his party and whether they encountered any hostility during the filming.

AN INSIGNIFICANT MAN. This compelling documentary becomes a riveting political thriller as it delves deeper into the governmental machinations of India, the world’s largest democracy. The filmmakers were given unlimited access to the nascent political career of Arvind Kejriwal, from fiery activist calling for new anti-corruption laws to a controversial politician and the face of the latest force in Indian politics: The Common Man’s Party (AAP). Kejriwal is a charismatic but flawed hero, representing the public’s rage with the political elite as he reveals how inequality is engineered through back-door cronyism and neoliberal capitalism. It’s a classic David vs Goliath scenario, with Kejriwal’s appeal and the seemingly unstoppable trajectory of his populist bandwagon creating a power shake-up that brings him into conflict with India’s mighty political establishment. As tensions escalate and sinister elements enter the fray, the AAP become subject to increased pressure from all sides and finds itself fighting for survival.

The post Khushboo Ranka, Vinay Shukla – An Insignificant Man #LFF2016 appeared first on Fred Film Radio.

PODCAST | Matt Micucci interviews Dain Iskander Said, director of Interchange, from the 2016 BFI London Film Festival.

To this day, there are people and tribes who believe that a photography has the power to steal your soul. Dain Iskandar Said’s film Interchange, started from this concept – it particularly was inspired by a photography depicting an old Borneo tribe cleansing themselves in a river from the effects of having been photographed.

The story has the sense of a genre film, falling somewhere between fantasy, thriller and horror, and it takes place in the modern world. We speak with the director about the challenges of working within the horror genre, and whether he sets out to expand its limits or whether he likes to begin with a concept and see if he can adapt it to a particular genre. We also ask him about the effects, impressive also due to the fact that Malaysia and Indonesia, where the film was produced, do not have effects as advanced as other countries.

There is more to Interchange than effects, which is why we also reflect upon the various themes dealt with in the film, including that of heritage and the power of the photographic image, the latter due to the fact that the object of photography plays a key role in the narrative.

INTERCHANGE. In a drag club a man has been completely drained of blood. The killer has left two signatures – the victim’s empty veins arranged in a pretty mesh and a smashed glass negative from an old plate camera. A forensics photographer with peeping-tom tendencies and an understanding of arcane photography is brought in to investigate. But his obsession with an alluring neighbour in his apartment block is giving him all kinds of shivers. This supernatural thriller is shot with impeccable style and foreboding mood, complete with rainstorm rooftop fight scenes, a hooded man with massive finger claws and an ancient curse cast upon a tribe in Borneo a hundred years ago. Malaysian director Dain Iskandar Said studied in London, where he first encountered the anthropological images that inspired this tale. Beautiful and strange, it’s a rare species of thriller that truly captures the imagination as it spreads its wings.

The post Dain Iskander Said – Interchange #LFF2016 appeared first on Fred Film Radio.

PODCAST | Matt Micucci interviews Asli Özge, director, and Emre Erkmen, cinematographer of the film All of a Sudden from the 60th BFI London Film Festival.

All of a Sudden begins with a dramatic and tragic event. From there on, we witness the repercussions it has on the life of the film’s protagonist Karsten, whose life is turned upside down all of a sudden. Yet, the film keeps us in the dark about some of the things that go on in his head as he goes through it all. There is a constant aura of mystery that makes the watch uncomfortable.

All of a Sudden is director Asli Özge’s first German-speaking feature, and quite a gripping one at that. There are a number of elements to be found in it that go beyond the usual clichés of the thriller genre (the film is also appropriately presented in the London Film Festival’s self-explanatory Thrill section), one of which is the fact that despite the dark nature of the film, it does not restrict itself to a claustrophobic cinematography. This is an aspect that we discuss in this interview with the cinematographer of the film Emre Erkmen.

ALL OF A SUDDEN. The first German-language film by the highly talented Turkish writer-director of Men on the Bridge and Lifelong – both of which screened at LFF – is as bold, imaginative and impressive as its predecessors. A dark psychological drama that expertly combines suspenseful unease, social satire and ethical analysis, it centres on Karsten (Hülk), a popular young professional in a quiet provincial town whose life begins to unravel after a woman dies in mysterious circumstances in his apartment after an impromptu party. What exactly happened? Indeed, who was the dead woman? Even Karsten’s loyal girlfriend Laura (Jentsch) wonders about his account of events. Özge’s sharp, elegantly structured script is well served by strong but nuanced performances, by striking, expressive camerawork (by Özge’s regular collaborator Emre Erkmen), and by her own very assured handling of the unexpected twists and tonal shifts in what is a compellingly acerbic cautionary tale.

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PODCAST | Chiara Nicoletti interviews Dan Brown, Ron Howard, Tom Hanks, Felicity Jones, Omar Sy and Irrfan Khan on the film Inferno.

FRED Film Radio attended the press conference and press junket for the world premiere of Inferno.

The city of Florence is the real protagonist of the film as 90% of Inferno, the third film adapted from Dan Brown’s novels, takes place there. In this third chapter of Robert Langdon’s adventures, the famous symbolist will have to solve an “Dantesque” enigma to prevent the world from falling under a pestilential plague which might be caused by a virus created by a crazy millionaire.

At Langdon’ side, a new entry, Felicity Jones playing doctor Sienna Brooks.

Since Florence is the main location in the film, the city was chosen ton host the World premiere and the official press conference. Dan Brown, Ron Howard, Omar Sy, Felicity Jones and protagonist Tom Hanks attended. They have their own detailed ideas on their own ideas of what hell would be like, or what hell represents.

Since overpopulation is portrayed in the film as the biggest threat for humankind, Tom Hanks explains that for him, it’s not overpopulation but Ignorance to be the world’s imminent danger.

INFERNO. When Robert Langdon wakes up in an Italian hospital with amnesia, he teams up with Dr. Sienna Brooks, and together they must race across Europe against the clock to foil a deadly global plot.

The post Interview with actors, director and author of “Inferno” appeared first on Fred Film Radio.