FRED Film Radio - English Channel

This interview was conducted during the 78th Edinburgh International Film Festival, offering a unique opportunity to explore the profound themes and artistic choices behind “Mortician“. This film stands out for its boldness in addressing the realities of exile and resistance, shedding light on struggles often hidden from view and giving voice to those fighting for freedom from afar.

Abdolreza Kahani’s film “Mortician” explores the complex realities of exile and political resistance, weaving the stories of its characters into a compelling narrative that emphasizes resilience in the face of adversity. The film stars Golazin Ardestani, known as Gola—a singer and actress bringing her personal experience as an exiled artist—and Nima Sadr, whose performance as Mojdaba adds emotional depth and authenticity.

“Mortician” is more than just a cinematic piece; it is a powerful act of defiance. Kahani, an Iranian director working outside his homeland and known for his oppositional cinema, delivers a bold work that confronts the shadows cast by exile—such as paranoia, surveillance, and internal conflict. Its premiere at Edinburgh marked an important moment, highlighting a film that challenges oppressive regimes and raises awareness of the struggles faced by persecuted individuals.

Featuring Nima Sadr, previously appreciated for his role in “A Shrine“, and Golazin Ardestani, whose poetic voice and personal history as an exiled singer lend profound authenticity, the film offers intense, measured performances. These actors bring to life complex, tormented characters caught between worlds and ideologies—each grappling with pain, hope, and the harsh realities of displacement.

Mojtaba, played by Nima Sadr, is an Iranian expatriate living in Canada. His job—washing the bodies of the deceased according to Islamic tradition—is solitary and imbued with melancholy, forcing him to confront mortality and the fragile nature of life. His routine is disrupted when he encounters Jana, portrayed by Golazin Ardestani, an exiled protest singer persecuted by the regime in Iran. Jana’s request is heart-wrenching: she asks Mojtaba to wash her body after she executes her plan to end her life as a final act of protest.

Their interactions reveal themes of mortality, resistance, and emotional resilience. Abdolreza Kahani carefully creates a tense atmosphere, using visual elements such as foggy windows, mirrors, and close-ups of smartphone screens—symbols of surveillance and distrust—that underscore the pervasive paranoia in exile communities. Jana’s paranoia is palpable, and it begins to infect Mojtaba, pushing him to take precautions like deleting all his apps before meeting her, emphasizing the constant threat of surveillance.

Golazin Ardestani shares how she infused her role with her own personal experience as an artist living in exile. Working closely with Kahani, she aimed to raise awareness about the struggles faced by women and female singers in Iran. “We didn’t want Jana to become Gola, but the pain is the same. The reality of life is the same. The exile is the same, the rage is the same,” she explains. Her portrayal balances her own identity with the character’s despair, illustrating the universality of suffering under oppressive regimes.

Jana’s songs, composed by Ardestani herself, serve as powerful musical expressions of rebellion and hope. These performances deepen the film’s message: art remains a vital weapon of resistance, capable of inspiring change and conveying solidarity even in darkness.

Throughout the film, the evolving relationship between Mojtaba and Jana reveals a profound human connection. Mojtaba’s gentle, passive nature contrasts sharply with Jana’s fiery spirit, creating a compelling dynamic. Despite their differences, they find comfort and validation in each other’s company. Kahani’s depiction of this relationship emphasizes that even wounded souls—scarred by exile and repression—can forge bonds that affirm their shared humanity and resilience.

According to Sadr, their struggles are reflective of the harsh realities faced daily by many Iranians. “Honestly, that’s almost a reality for our life. Most Iranian people, that it is happening every day to us,” he states. The continued threat from oppressive regimes, whether within Iran or among expatriates, shapes their perceptions of safety and freedom, revealing the pervasive reach of authoritarian control.

The film concludes with an intentionally abrupt and intense ending, fitting its somber tone. Rather than the traditional ending credits, Kahani presents a manifesto explaining his act of resistance: he shot the entire film alone, on a simple smartphone, refusing Iranian state funding. This act itself is a statement—an assertion of artistic independence and defiance in the face of repression. Kahani emphasizes that his mission is to create films that raise awareness and challenge injustice.

Kahani expresses that his role is to make films that raise awareness. Ardestani adds that the bond between Jana and Mojdaba is significant because it reveals that no one is truly safe under the current Iranian regime. “Even the person who is working for them, right? And I think that’s very interesting that at the end, we get to watch that.” Kahani’s film sheds light on the persecution faced by Iranians, even outside of Iran, and the challenges of being understood by those who have not lived this reality. Ardestani hopes that Mortician will bring awareness to audiences about what is happening beyond Iran’s borders and the reach of the Iranian regime.

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La grande attesa è finita. Alberto Barbera, il direttore artistico della Mostra Internazionale d’Arte Cinematografica di Venezia ha finalmente svelato il programma dell’ 82° edizione, in programma  dal 27 agosto al 6 settembre 2025.

Con un’apertura già annunciata con “La Grazia” di Paolo Sorrentino in concorso, Venezia 82 mette ben altri 4 titoli italiani in concorso: “Elisa” di Leonardo Di Costanzo, “Duse” di Pietro Marcello, “Sotto le nuvole” di Gianfranco Rosi e “Un film fatto per bene” di Franco Maresco.

Attraverso questi titoli e molti altri di casa nostra in programma tra Orizzonti, Spotlight e Fuori Concorso, Barbera riflette sullo stato di salute del cinema italiano.

Fuori concorso per sua volontà e quella di Prime Video, “After hunt” di Luca Guadagnino che vedrà la protagonista, Julia Roberts, calcare per la prima volta il carpet del Lido.

Tra i titoli attesissimi che hanno confermato la loro presenza a Venezia: “The Wizard of the Kremlin” di Assayas con Paul Dano, Jude Law, Alicia Vikander, “A House of Dynamite” di Kathryn Bigelow, “Frankenstein” di Guillermo Del Toro, “Bugonia” di Yorgos Lanthimos con Emma Stone e “Father Mother Sister Brother“, la prima volta di Jim Jarmusch in concorso a Venezia.

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At the Rome Film Fest 2024, Teemu Nikki, alongside actresses Elina Knihlä and Pirjo Lonka, talk about their heartfelt dark comedy, “100 Litres of Gold”. The film, set in rural Finland, follows two sisters whose legendary homemade beer, sahti, leads to a chain of hilarious and chaotic events.

“I’m from that culture. My family has made sahti,” says Nikki, explaining why this traditional brew is more than just a drink—it’s a cultural symbol. The film pays homage to a fading tradition and celebrates the strong identity of small Finnish communities.

“As long as there is laughter, there is hope,” says Nikki, describing his passion for black comedy. Though filled with absurd and comedic moments, “100 Litres of Gold” also addresses personal trauma and emotional resilience. “I laugh at the things I’m scared of,” he adds.

Elina and Pirjo’s performances are rooted in real-life friendship. “We’ve known each other since we were 13 years old,” they reveal. “This is the first time we’re acting as sisters—it was a huge pleasure.” That natural bond brings authenticity and warmth to their on-screen relationship.

Nikki script gives space to two complex, flawed, and hilarious women who carry the film with heart and grit. “Some directors say that it’s so hard to write a good script for women,” says Lonka, adding, “But he just did it because you don’t have to write the woman at all. There is just the person or character, then it happens.”

“100 Litres of Gold”, directed by Teemu Nikki and starring Elina Knihlä and Pirjo Lonka, opens in Italian cinemas on July 17 with I Wonder Pictures.

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Mexican director Michel Franco was in Karlovy Vary to present his Berlin-premiered, latest film, “Dreams“, where Jessica Chastain (already starring, in a diametrically opposite role, in his previous movie, “Memory“) plays a rich American woman who enjoys an affair with an enamoured, talented, and undocumented young Mexican ballet dancer (Isaác Hernández) whom she doesn’t seem able to really let into her wealthy benefactress world.

It seems difficult not to immediately consider “Dreams” within the context the filmmaker’s body of work, for however very distinctive each new film he makes always is, since his petrifying debut “Daniel & Ana” (2009), each one also adds new layers and complexities to his often merciless and calmly drastic oeuvre, which makes it a rather vertiginous echo chamber. One of the many things “Dreams” brings in is, with Fernando, ‘a strong character [who] loves [Jessica Chastain‘s character], but he’s got dignity, so if the relationship is not on equal terms, he’s not interested in being with her. And of course I’m Mexican so in a way, I wanted to build a character who is full of dignity, and talented and brave, but also a real character who, at some point in the film, makes mistakes.‘

We discuss the irreconcilable distances between Jennifer and Fernando, and especially her inability to escape the vertical, exploitative system of relationships she is used to, and confortable in, which makes her unable to relate to him, as an individual, on an even plainfield.

Asked about the house in this film (houses being one of the spaces he likes to explore in his films), Franco also underlines the strict divide between private and public life Chastain‘s character never manages to abolish, and suggests that despite her maintained aloofness, she is ‘lonely and sad’ living this ‘double life’, being unable to break away from a privileged world where, when all is said and done, she does not really have ‘her own voice, and she’s bossed around by the men in her family.‘

Following this argument in ‘defense’ of a character whose radical act of betrayal seems nevertheless unforgivable, echoing other immoral, despicable deeds in Franco filmography, whether collective – like in the Cannes-awarded, gripping “After Lucia” (2012) or, very differently, “New Order” (2020), which floored its first viewers in Venice and bagged the Grand Jury Prize – or individual – “April’s Daughter” vividly comes to mind –, the conversation veers towards the satisfying quality, for the viewer, of revenge as a response to such foul acts in many of Franco‘s films.

Answering a question about the fact that a viewer’s mind struggles to even conceive the inhumanity and violence (physical or other) often depicted in them, so inexorable it sometimes eclipses the tenderness and kindness also present in his stories – for instance in “Chronic” (2015) and “Sundown” (2021), both starring Tim Roth –, so much so that it tends to want this violence to be purely fictional and hypothetical, Michel Franco is categorical: what he is interested in portraying is, ‘unfortunately, the reality of the world.’

‘Some people have absolute freedom […], but most people don’t enjoy these privileges. That’s the world, and I think that’s why people are upset everywhere, because of the social disparity. There are A class citizens [and] people having nothing, not even the minimum rights guaranteed. In the case of Mexico and the States, it’s very dramatic, because we see that on a huge border, and Mexico is treated like a backyard, and immigrants and Mexicans who support the American economy are not acknowledged and not treated in a respectful way in most cases.‘

As it were, the strong impact of the filmmaker films may very well stem for the painful perception, on the part of the viewer, of the cruel contradiction between the evident humanism in them and this implacable lucidity, at least when it comes to a certain part of humankind.

‘The films and books that interest me, always, are those which don’t shy away from the dark side of human behaviour, which we can witness it without much effort: it’s everywhere, unfortunately. […] I am more interested in a cinema that shows a little bit of who we are than in the silly fantasy of what we should be, without any true learning of who we are. […] If we live in such a troubled world, it is because we keep failing as human beings.‘

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A conversation with Brazilian director Davi Pretto about his fourth feature, “Future Future“, a visually arresting and deeply affecting dystopian film, selected in the Proxima Competition section of the 59th Karlovy Vary International Film Festival, where the past is forgotten, and the future eerily similar to the present – as a title card reveals in the beginning of the film, it was shot in Porto Alegre during the cataclysmic floods of 2024.

In the film, set in a near future, markedly divided into two distinct acts set in two opposite, adjacent spaces filmed and crafted in completely different ways – between which the mind of the protagonist, K., alternates throughout the movie –, that of the poor and that of the rich, various tragedies have already happened: a virus making it impossible to form mental images and therefore to retain memories, even that of one’s own name, virus which made necessary the use of AI machines to do ‘all the work’ in lieu of the humans, but also a ‘Split’ which has isolated the hungry and poor majority experiencing the critical state of the world every day from the wealthy part of the population dwelling in the supernatural redness of cold, modern flats floating accross the tops of cities contemplating the coming apocalypse, to paraphrase the poet.

‘We wanted to navigate through different crises that I believe we are living, these political, urbanistic, technological crises that, in some way, for me, are related. I think it’s impossible to talk about the technological crisis without talking about climate change… What I wanted to do is to put together some sort of a meditation about all these things, make the audience dive into some sort of bubble, put the audience into some sort of bubble and make them experience these things, and not only talk… well, not talk, because I don’t think the film is trying to give answers about these issues: we’re just trying to ruminate about these things.’

‘AI is something we address in the film, but I decided to use AI images, I wanted to, because I think it was important not only to put the audience in front of these images, but also to give them time to really look at them, proper time – because when you watch these images online, they are quite fast. I really wanted to make something that would give the audience a space [to consider] a horror, a nightmare.’

‘The title is a bit like a joke: it promises a really futuristic film, but at the end of the day, the first image that we see is the most common place in Brazil, a school, and then there is a street, and there is no element that indicates a near-future film. I think that was the goal: to really play with the audience’s expectations.‘

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Greek director and musician Alexandros Voulgaris, a.k.a. The Boy, who has just world-premiered his latest work, “They Come Out of Margo“, in the Proxima Competition of the 59th Karlovy Vary Film Festival, tells us more about this undescribable, extremely rich work centered around a fictional, once prolific female composer adored by the people of Athens – born by accident after the mysterious disappearance of a sister she never met whose name she bears in shortened form – who celebrates her 40th birthday with her dearest friends in the rich universe of the flat she hasn’t left in many years.

Voulgaris describes his writing process and elaborates on the seemingly dissociative, fragmented structure of the film, teeming with existential and philosophical suggestions, and how it embraces more truthfully the all-at-once complexity of daily life. We also discuss death and generativity, the elevated cinematic references present in the film, its horror-like elements as well as its uncanny lightness, and the situation of female artists in the 70s and 80s, amongst other things.

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“Seti loves music and singing, and she yearns for her voice to be heard. But in Iran, it is against the law for women to perform in public, and so the young girl decides to engage in her own personal protest. The street becomes her stage, and random passers-by become her enthusiastic audience. Her star rises. Seti becomes an idol of her generation, of young people who no longer want to live under ruthless political oppression.” (Anna Kořínek, KVIFF official website)

Soheil Beiraghi‘s fourth feature, “Bidad“, was officially the twelfth title to join the Crystal Globe Competition of the 59th Karlovy Vary IFF, as the organisers only unveiled its selection a few days before the festival, to make sure that he and the members of his crew could safely travel out of Iran, especially knowing that Beiraghi was investigated by the authorities during the shoot, also pointing out that ‘Bidad was made as an independent production; otherwise, it would never have been approved by the censors because of its critical tone.’

Beiraghi has been portraying strong female characters since his 2016 debut feature, bearing the ultimate self-assertive title of “I“, starring Leila Hatami (“A Separation“). If this first film also had a successful national release, both “Cold Sweat” (2018), an international festival darling and a three-prize winner at the Fajr Film Festival followingthe captain of the Iranian women’s national football team, and “Popular” (2020), on a female divorcee who wants to start a new life, were banned in Iran, the latter not even getting a public screening.

The title of “Bidad“, in which Seti, a young, Gen Z female singer who refuses to accept the fact that women in Iran are not allowed to sing in public defies her country’s religious laws, and starts performing in the street, refers at the same time to oppression, lament, and outcry.

In our conversation with Beiraghi – who not only wrote and directed, but also co-edited and produced his film, and supervised the art department –, we discuss the image of Teheran and Iran presented in the film as opposed to the old-fashioned, lifeless notion of it the international public generally sees. Elaborating on Seti’s trajectory of self-assertion, the director also underlines the universal aspect of his character’s search for identity and youthful energy. The beautiful innocence of her budding friendship with the unconventional, contagiously carefree boy-who-doesn’t-tell-his-name is also mentioned.

Beiraghi, who intends to continue to make films no matter what restrictions he may face, also points out how Seti’s need to be seen by the world reflects his own.

Alef Pictures, the company through which Beiraghi produced his film, also handles international sales.

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Czech director and scriptwriter Ondřej Provazník is competing for the Crystal Globe of the 59th Karlovy Vary International Film Festival with his fourth feature, “Broken Voices”, inspired by the scandal of the Bambini di Praga choir, a sexual abuse case with which the director had an eery, haunting brush after the trial, reflecting the ambiguity of the reactions of the people involved towards the choirmaster even though he was indeed found guilty, almost is if he was the guru of a cult.

We discuss the hints that surface and the silence that nevertheless dominates, the way Ondřej Provazník wanted to reflect the ambivalence and the toxicity of the system through his stylistic choices, the fact that beauty and cruelty often live together under the same roof, the protagonist’s initial candour, her growing awareness and the importance of not making her a victim, and the attitude of Karolina’s sister Lucie.

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Director, scriptwriter, and producer Laurent Slama is at the 59th Karlovy Vary International Film Festival for the European premiere of “A Second Life” amongst the Special Screenings. This deeply human and uplifting story, his third feature after “Paris Is Us” (2019) and “Roaring 20s” (2021) – filmed in one single shot in the busy streets and parks of the French capital –, which he both directed under the pseudonym of Elisabeth Vogler, takes place and was shot during the Paris 2024 Summer Olympics, outdoors amongst the events unfolding during this special moment in time.

Laurent Slama tells us more about the shooting conditions, in 14 days on foot with limited crew equipped with backpacks, and about how he approaches production in general to make his extremely organic, seemingly free-flowing films. We discuss his characters, stressed out and depressed Elisabeth (Vogler, played by Agathe Rousselle, the star of “Titane”) and the irresistible, pinked-haired, carefree Elijah (Alex Lawther) as well as the new perspective the latter brings, with contagious good spirits, to not only Elisabeth but also the viewer, as we are drawn into perceiving the agression of the world surrounding her, and then the relief which comes with letting go, taking things as they come, and having friends to help you when you fall.

We also ask Laurent Slama about the idea of making Elisabeth hearing-impaired and creating sound design to capture how she hears the world with and without her hearing aids, in this film which indeed revolves a lot around the notion of perception, also expressed by recurring scenes shot amongst Claude Monet’s Waterlilies (famously painted when cataract was already affecting his perception of colours) and mirroring shots of actual waterlilies in magnificent saturated colours.

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Academy Award®-winning director Danny Boyle and Academy Award®-nominated writer Alex Garland reunite for “28 Years Later”, a terrifying new “auteur horror” story set in the world created by 28 Days Later.

The film landed cinemas worldwide on June 20th.

Set nearly three decades after the original outbreak, this new chapter isn’t just about viral horrors — it’s about identity, family, and the dangerous comfort of old ideologies.

During his stay in Italy for the Italian release of the film, Danny Boyle reveals that the film’s young protagonist, Spike, is raised in a regressive community where boys are warriors and girls are homemakers, a retreat from the gender progress of the last 50 years.

But when Spike steps into the infected mainland with his father (Aaron Taylor-Johnson), his journey becomes more than survival, it’s a coming-of-age tale wrapped in a post-apocalyptic nightmare.

Starring Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Jodie Comer, and Ralph Fiennes, and written by Alex Garland, this film is both a continuation and a bold reimagining.

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