FRED Film Radio - English Channel

Francois Peloquin – director – The Sound of Trees

FRED’s Matt Micucci interviews the filmmaker Francois Péloquin, whose feature directorial debut THE SOUND OF TREES was features in the Official Competition of the 50th Karlovy Vary International Film Festival.

We talk with Francois about the challenges of making a first feature and why he decided to tell this particular story for it. We also talk about certain driving themes and subjects that influence THE SOUND OF TREES, such as adolescence, father and son relationship and the relationships different generations have to rural life.

Taking into consideration that this his directorial debut, we also take the opportunity to ask him what his interest as a filmmaker are and what he would like to explore with his future projects.

THE SOUND OF TREES: At 17 Jérémie dreams of a life different from the one that awaits him at the family sawmill in the small Canadian town where he lives. Jérémie is more interested in pimping his car, listening to hip hop, and slacking off with his friends. This impressionistic debut, built upon convincing performances, tells of a summer that completely changed a teenager’s life.

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Hugo Bousquet – director – Beyond Here

FRED’s Matt Micucci interviews Hugo Busquet, director of the film BEYOND HERE, which had its world premiere in the forum of independents competition of the 50th Karlovy Vary International Film Festival.

Hugo tells us about where the initial inspiration of the film and also how the desolate mountainous setting of the film affects its narrative and thematic examinations.

BEYOND HERE: A desolate mountainous region, a young couple exhausted from a long journey, an abandoned house discovered by chance, and finally the arrival of a mysterious stranger speaking an unfamiliar language – the director defly employs these ingredients to create suspense in a psychological drama compressed by time and space.

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Tonislav Hristov – director – Once Upon a Dream – Journey to the Last Spaghetti Western

FRED’s Matt Micucci interviews Tonislav Hristov, director of the film ONCE UPON A DREAM – JOURNEY TO THE LAST SPAGHETTI WESTERN, which had its international premiere in the documentary competition of the 50th Karlovy Vary International Film Festival.

Tonislav tells us about how the documentary got started, and about how it would chronicle the real production of a real fiction film that was meant to be shot in the pivotal village, used decades ago as the setting for countless spaghetti western film productions. He also talks about his initial reaction to the setting and to its inhabitants.

ONCE UPON A DREAM – JOURNEY TO THE LAST SPAGHETTI WESTERN: It’s not so long since they shot one cult film after another in the Andalusian town of Tabernas. But the fame of the movie stars has since faded and the charm of the place evaporated in the face of the economic crisis. When word gets out about the production of a new blockbuster, the eyes of the local inhabitants shine with hope. A humorous documentary fairy tale about a life reminiscent of an endless Hollywood movie.

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Jan Tesitel – director – David

FRED’s Matt Micucci interviews Jan Tesitel, director of the film DAVID, which had its world premiere in the forum of independents section of the 50th Karlovy Vary International Film Festival.

The film marks Jan Tesitel‘s feature directorial debut. We ask him about the challenge of making a first film, especially with a very low budget and also the challenges of representing mental illness on screen. We ask him where the inspiration for the story of the film came from and how he came to cast the lead actor Patrik Holubar in the difficult titular role.

DAVID: At age 20, David is increasingly aware of how his mental illness influences his parents’ behavior. So one evening he decides to run away to Prague where, alone, he has to face numerous tricky situations – as well as his own thoughts. This courageous and moody debut is crowned with a fine lead performance from Patrik Holubar.

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Doris Pack – coordinator – LUX Prize

FRED’s Matt Micucci meets Doris Pack, coordinator of the LUX Prize, at the 50th Karlovy Vary International Film Festival, which once again hosted the unveiling of this year’s shortlisted films.

But on top of talking about this year’s edition, we reflect upon the previous successes of the LUX Prize and the reactions to last year’s LUX Prize award winner IDA by Pawel Pawlikowski going on to win the Academy Award earlier this year.

Doris Pack also talks about other initiatives supported by the European Parliament, that use cinema’s cultural power to promote European ideals, such as the LUX Film Days, in which the three finalist films are screened at a festival in each of the countries of the European union and the 28 Times Cinema project, which brings a young cinephile to the Venice Film Festival every year to represent each of the countries in the European Union.

LUX PRIZE: Since then, the European Parliament casts an annual spotlight on films that go to the heart of the European public debate. Beyond the stories they tell, these films explore and question European shared values, look at the level of support for the project of building Europe and address cross-border concerns such as immigration, justice, solidarity, public freedoms and fundamentals rights. Each film offers a glimpse into the lives of Europeans, their convictions and doubts and their quest for identity.

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Andy Becker – music composer – David

FRED’s Matt Micucci interviews Andy Becker, composer of the music of the film DAVID by Jan Tesitel, which had its world premiere in the forum of independents section of the 50th Karlovy Vary International Film Festival.

Andy tells us how the collaboration, with whom he worked on previous short films, started and how he got involved in Jan Tesitel’s directorial feature debut. He also talks a little about the techniques he used to create a piece of music that would convey its feelings and emotions.

Aside from DAVID, we also talk about his more personal interests as a musician and his future projects.

DAVID: At age 20, David is increasingly aware of how his mental illness influences his parents’ behavior. So one evening he decides to run away to Prague where, alone, he has to face numerous tricky situations – as well as his own thoughts. This courageous and moody debut is crowned with a fine lead performance from Patrik Holubar.

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