FRED Film Radio - English Channel

PODCAST : Géza Röhrig – actor – Son of Saul

To listen to the interview, click on the ► icon on the right, just above the picture of the film

Son of Saul (original title Saul Fia) by Laslo Nemes finally lands in Italy, ready to be distributed by Teodora Film from January 21st.

Géza Röhrig is the absolute protagonist of the film. We first met him at the Festival de Cannes, where the film had its premiere, and won the Grand Prix. Since then, Son of Saul has gone on to win countless awards all over the globe, and most recently received a Golden Globe for Best Foreign Language Film, making it a favourite for an Oscar at the upcoming Academy Awards.

FRED’s Chiara Nicoletti caught up with the actor once again, to reflect upon the film’s worldwide success, and to discuss what it is that makes this film so different from the many Holocaust films that have been made, such as Nemes’ idea of shooting everything literally through Saul’s face, let the audience work with imagination so that the power of suggestion is stronger than any explicit image.

Géza Röhrig too, with his performance, has received praise for his role and his presence that dominates the film’s action and perspective. Hard to believe that this is his feature debut. So, we ask him about his reaction to his taste of red carpets and spotlights, as well as what it for him to carry the weight of the message of Son of Saul on his shoulders.

SON OF SAUL (Saul fia): “Two days in the life of Saul Auslander, Hungarian prisoner working as a member of the Sonderkommando at one of the Auschwitz Crematoriums who, to bury the corpse of a boy he takes for his son, tries to carry out his impossible deed: salvage the body and find a rabbi to bury it. While the Sonderkommando is to be liquidated at any moment, Saul turns away of the living and their plans of rebellion to save the remains of a son he never took care of when he was still alive.” (official synopsis of the film taken from the )

WANT TO FIND OUT MORE ABOUT “SON OF SAUL”? – Click here to listen to our interview with Son of Saul director Laszlo Nemes, director of photography Matyas Erdely and co-screenwriter Clara Royer, from the 2015 Festival de Cannes (English channel)

The post PODCAST | Géza Röhrig, actor of “Son of Saul” appeared first on Fred Film Radio.

David Havas – manager – Kino Ponrepo

FRED’s Matt Micucci interviews David Havas, manager of Kino Ponrepo in Prague, the cinema of the Czech National Film Archive.

David talks to us about the various activities that Ponrepo organizes and is involved with, as well as some of its history. He discusses the way in which in 2015 it noticed a rise in the number of its audiences, as he explains, without having to change its philosophy of programming films that are not shown in any other cinemas, on top of screening original copies and prints of the classics by the great filmmakers of all time.

On top of that, reflecting upon this positive year, David tells FRED about some of the highlights of Ponrepo’s 2015 programme, to give our listeners an idea of this amazing venue that tends to the needs not only of cinephiles, but also encourages filmmakers as well as artists in general to get involved, network and further their artistic careers through a series of events that extend beyond cinema.

The post David Havas – Kino Ponrepo appeared first on Fred Film Radio.

Valentina Maffucci – co-founder – Crossmedia Factory

FRED’s Chiara Nicoletti meets Valentina Maffucci, co-founder with Sabrina Giacardi of Crossmedia factory which, in collaboration with the National Cinema Museum in Turin, brought the crossmedia project Sherlock Holmes and the Internet of Things to the TFF.

Valentina talks to us about this first experience with the project, the collaboration with the Museum that allowed them to place the first edition during the TFF at the MOLE Antonelliana and explains in detail what Crossmedia means.

“Sherlock Holmes and the Internet of Things is an experimental project spearheaded by Lance Weiler, the director of the Digital Storytelling Lab at Columbia University. It managed to connect over 60 countries around the world and 1000 collaborators. The project addresses the possible interaction between new narrative forms and the emerging universe of the so-called “internet of things” (interconnected “smart- objects).

As Crossmedia Factory, we decided to launch the Italian version of the event, which is technically called an “immersive storytelling game” and can be somewhat described as a cross between a role playing game, theatrical impro and the latest technology. And, as per the title, it draws its inspiration from the storyworld of Sherlock Holmes.”

The post Valentina Maffucci – Crossmedia Factory appeared first on Fred Film Radio.

Julien Temple – director – The Ecstasy of Wilko Johnson

Angelo Acerbi meets with the great filmmaker Julien Temple, guest director at the 33rd Torino Film Festival.

We find out the reason why he chose the film in his programme , using the experience he lived on the set of THE ECSTASY OF WILKO JOHNSON, as an inspiration. He talks about his approach to documentary or fiction, the importance of music in his life (and in ours, too). He also reflects on what happened with ABSOLUTE BEGINNERS (that luckily is part of the history of cinema) and what he would have done differently.

THE ECSTASY OF WILKO JOHNSON: After being diagnosed with a terminal illness in 2013, Wilko Johnson, guitarist for Dr Feelgood and for the Blockheds, decides to embark on a farewell tour. Spurred by his irresistible energy, his love for music and life, with his inseparable Fender Stratocaster at his side to accompany him into his explosive performances.

The post Julien Temple – The Ecstasy of Wilko Johnson #TFF33 appeared first on Fred Film Radio.

Nicolas Winding Refn – Mario Bava’s Terrore nello Spazio

Angelo Acerbi interviews Nicolas Winding Refn , about his particicpation to the restoration of the film PLANET OF THE VAMPIRES (Terrore nello Spazio).

His love for this film is deep and passionate, and very clear in his words; many narrative and aesthetical aspects of the film are key for many horror and science fiction films to come (Alien, for example).

Besides this specific issues, we find out what kind of films Refn watches, how he decides to tell a story, what attracts and intrigues him, and why he’s not interested in the quarrel between film print and digital. Pretty important and interesting stuff.

The post Nicolas Winding Refn – Mario Bava’s Planet of the Vampires #TFF33 appeared first on Fred Film Radio.

Joao Nicolau – director – John From

Joao Nicolau, director of John From, choses to have two different tones in telling us the story of a teenage girl flirting with an older neighbour. Her increasing obsession with the man brings the film form a regular, even close-to-documentary style to a more surreal one, with a stretch to comical situations that could be only in the gilr’s mind. But you’ll never know…

JOHN FROM: Rita is fifteen and this explains a lot. The full-fledged adolescent spends the long, hot summer days with her best friend Sara, doing the usual things people that age do: hairdos to fix and undo, code names to make up for each other, and of course someone to fall head over heels in love with. But instead of the usual high school classmate, the object of her palpitations is a forty-year-old photographer who just inaugurated an exhibit about Melanesia: to Rita, the distance between Portugal and Papua New Guinea is as short as the one between reality and fiction.

The post Joao Nicolau – John From #TFF33 appeared first on Fred Film Radio.

Igor Drljaca – director – The Waiting Room

Igor Drljaca tells a story of an expat form Sarajevo to Canada, an actor formerly famous in his country who is still looking for his place in the world.

The lead actor is an actual expatriate, and a lot of his personal life poured into the film, with replicas of events he actually lived paired with fictional ones. The director perfectly depicts this empty space, this “waiting room” in the life of the lead character where nothing ever happens, even if it should.

THE WAITING ROOM: Jasmin, who was once a successful actor in the former Yugoslavia, lives in Toronto after having left Sarajevo to escape from the civil war. He works as a bricklayer, barely making ends meet, and juggles auditions and tryouts in the attempt to relaunch his career. He is cast in a role which brings back memories of painful events he had never gotten over and has to face reality once and for all, making his peace with a past that still weighs down on him.

The post Igor Drljaca – The Waiting Room #TFF33 appeared first on Fred Film Radio.

Ross Partridge / Jennifer Lafleur – director / actress – Lamb

Ross Patridge tells us a strange friendship, an unsettling relationship, pure but bumpy, a meeting of two lonely souls that have an enourmous age gap between them; this could keep them apart , but instead it brings them together. It was a difficult and dangerous path the one Ross Patridge chose to take, but the risk was worth taking.

The question is: if the roles were reversed, if it was a mature woman and a young boy, would have all been so challenged by the film? Jennifer Lafleur tells her thoughts about this…and we could not agree more. have a listen…

LAMB: The life of David Lamb is in shambles: shortly after his divorce, he also had to face his father’s death. When everything seems lost, he meets Tommie in a parking lot: an eleven-year-old girl, somewhat of an awkward loner. And everything changes: feeling the urge to finally do something positive, David sets off with the girl in a journey toward the Rocky Mountains. Surrounded by wilderness and breathtaking landscapes, the unlikely pair gets to know each other as their lives slowly open up to one another.

The post Ross Partridge, Jennifer Lafleur – Lamb #TFF33 appeared first on Fred Film Radio.

Marko Skop – director – Eva Nova

Two years ago Marko Skop participated with his film project EVA NOVA to the Torino Film Lab where he developed the script and made a lot of interesting and remarkable connections. Skop is back in Turin, at the Torino Film Festival to share with the audience and with FRED his experience and to introduce us to EVA NOVA.

EVA NOVA: Eva Nová is a sixty-two-year-old woman fighting to stay sober and living off the memories of her glory days as a famous actress during the communist era. She left her son Dodo with her sister Manka when he was just a boy; he is now a grown man who lives in the countryside with his wife, children, and ailing aunt. Eva goes to visit her son and his family and will do anything to make up for all the lost time.

The post Marko Skop – Eva Nova #TFF33 appeared first on Fred Film Radio.

Viola Gabrielli – project manager – KIDS Regio

Viola Gabrielli from KIDS Regio tells us about the various actions that can be undertaken for promoting and developing the production of films for kids; one of the aims of KIDS Regio is also to balance within the European territory the quantity of such movies, implying that the importance, both educational and economical, of this compartment of the film industry is crucial.

Viola Gabrielli was guest of the Piemonte Day, a day of workshops also organised by Media, that took place at the Film Commission Torino Piemonte during the 33rd Torino Film Festival.

KIDS REGIO: KIDS Regio presents a lobby initiative for producers and distributers of high quality and multi-faceted European Children’s Films.

Thus, the initiative supports the professionals who work in film for children & youth and forms a platform to strengthen existing networks, (to discuss new synergies) and define solutions to improve the status, transfer and variety of European productions, co-productions & distributions for children and youth.

KIDS Regio particularly supports original live-action feature films for children, which offer children a wide variety of stories, genres and styles.

KIDS Regio is the brainchild of Cine Regio, the Network of regional film funding institutions and is supported by the Central German Regional Film Fund (Mitteldeutsche Medienförderung, MDM) and the Thuringian state Chancellery (Thüringer Staatskanzlei ).

KIDS Regio as a project is imbedded in the German Children’s Media Foundation GOLDEN SPARROW.

The post Viola Gabrielli – KIDS Regio #TFF33 appeared first on Fred Film Radio.