“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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Emerging film director from Ljubljana, Jan Krevatin is taking part to the 8th edition of the Future Frames Program at the 59th Karlovy Vary Film Festival with his short  film “Greek Apricots“.

With the Future Frames Program for talented young directors, the European Film Promotion EFP takes ten outstanding film school graduates from throughout Europe to the Karlovy Vary International Film Festival (Czech Republic). The directors get the chance to present their short films to the international industry and the public at the prestigious A-list film festival.

“Greek Apricots” is a story of alienation, about two people, a female truck driver and a sales clerk forming an unexpected bond over their Macedonian roots.

The film stars Labina Mitevska, who made her debut in 1994’s Oscar-nominated Before the Rain.

With his previous short film, “JOŽA”, Krevatin received the “Jelena Rajković” Award for Best Director Under 30 at the 32.Days of Croatian Film.

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After premiering in Tribeca, where the film owed its main actresses, Andrea Riseborough and Brenda Blethyn, the Best Performance Award of the International Narrative Competition, Paul Andrew Williams’ “Dragonfly” is gracing the screens of the 59th Karlovy Vary International Film Festival, amongst the Special Screenings.

We met the director and scriptwriter revealed by “London to Brighton” (2006), joined by seasoned stage and screen thespian Jason Watkins (recently seen in the gripping TV series “Coma”), who plays a crucial role in this unconventional ‘love story’/tragedy, for an in-depth conversation unpacking some of the many subtleties and possible readings of the film.

Williams, who has since his debut authored some of the grittiest and yet most compassionate examples of British social realist cinema (also including “Cherry Tree Lane” or, more recently, “Bull”), tells us more about the setting of “Dragonfly”, two cottages located next to each other, the modus operandi adopted during the shoot to observe the relationship between Elsie and her much younger neighbour Colleen, whose pitbull is the only companion she needs, the situation of the elderly and their carers, the choice of having DoP Vanessa Whyte shoot on 16 mm. Watkins and him also discuss the tremendous work done by both Blethyn and Riseborough and the many dimensions of the film.

The pivotal role of Watkins‘ character John, Elsie’s son, described by both he and Williams as ‘materialistic, cynical, childish and very selfish in a very childish, unhappy way,’ and the ensuing shattering of the love that had been slowly building leads to reflections on the various layers of meaning of the film and the many genres “Dragonfly” embraces.

P.A.W: ‘For me, they both provide something for each other: it’s something really important to be wanted and to be needed, and to have a value. What Colleen gets through her relationship with Elsie is a value, because what she is doing is valued by Elsie, very much so, and that’s a really beautiful thing, to feel like you’re necessary for somebody. And Elsie, she’s getting […] companionship. […] So I love watching them. They really value each other’.

P.A.W: ‘The idea was always to try and just observe these characters. We didn’t do loads and loads of cuts and loads and loads of coverage. The idea was to just see them interact, see what their day is like, just to build up a view of their relationship. It was important to observe these two characters just at ease in their life, and to not be trying too hard as a director, and as actors and as the writer… not over-egging it for the audience and let them discover them, take their time to see what they do. And then you get to know them.’

‘You can see the film on lots of different levels. It’s an incredible character study, in what people called a thriller! If this is a thriller, how many thrillers can you see with characters that are so detailed?!’

The post “Dragonfly”, an interview with director Paul Andrew Williams and actor Jason Watkins appeared first on Fred Film Radio.

The 25-year-old French prodigy director Nathan Ambrosioni is premiering his third feature film, “Out of Love”, in the Karlovy Vary Crystal Globe Competition. The film, which marks his second collaboration with actress Camille Cottin after “Toni” (2023), depicts a somewhat reversed situation compared to what happened in this story centered on a mother of five who realises she wants to be something else too, and goes back to school.

Indeed, “Out of Love”, also starring Juliette Armanet  and Monia Chokri in the main grown-up roles, sees Cottin’s character, Jeanne, an independent and busy professional working as an expert in damage assessment, suddenly in charge of her depressed sister’s two children after the latter, unable to attend to their needs, drops them with her and vanishes.

We met the lovely duo formed by the director and his actress, who held hands throughout the first public screening at the leading Czech event, to discuss Nathan Ambrosioni‘s choice of topics, his remarkably restrained style and sparing but deeply precise and authentic dialogues, the nuances of the character ever so subtly played by Cottin, and the challenging situation she is faced with, whether she likes it or not.

‘[As a child], I was watching Miyazaki’s movies all the time, but one day when I was twelve years old, I saw this horror film called “Esther” [international title: “Orphan“], and it was quite the revelation for me… I became passionate about horror movies. I thought it was so cool to scare people, so I wanted to scare people, but then I wanted to make them laugh, and now make them cry, with Camille. I think Camille can make everybody laugh and cry.’

‘Camille is so inspiring. Working with her on “Toni” was such a pleasure, and it was so nice to see her work that I wanted more! […] I wanted to work with Camille again, I wanted to write for her, so the main character had to be a woman. Plus we’ve seen a lot of films with men, and I think that it is important to represent women and queer people in movies, because representation is everything. As a queer filmmaker, it’s so important to me to watch queer cinema and feel represented in movies. And I just feel more at ease working and being with queer people and women. It’s not like it’s a choice: the stories I want to tell always revolve around queer and/or female characters. […] Camille is political in a way. Throughout her career, she has chosen roles that were super important for representation too. As a queer person, it felt it was really important to see Camille being a lesbian in “Call My Agent!“‘

‘Jeanne doesn’t have états d’âme, meaning movements of the heart. She doesn’t indulge in that. There’s a sternness about her: she was built as a strong antagonist when it comes to children in need of tenderness, of softness, of affection, of compassion. She’s practical, so she dives into the practicality of the situation, in order not to be overwhelmed. […] She’s completely invaded, and trapped, and I think that this gives her a sort of anger that she transforns into an energy of resistance. And she doesn’t speak a lot, even in a conversation where you could have intimacy, with her ex girlfriend for example, and it’s think it’s very enjoyable, as an actor, to have these two layers regarding a situation, what you say and how you feel, and to make them very distinct.’

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German director Simon Schneckenburger is taking part to the 8th edition of the Future Frames Program at the 59th Karlovy Vary Film Festival with his short film “Skin on Skin“.

With the Future Frames Program for talented young directors, the European Film Promotion EFP takes ten outstanding film school graduates from throughout Europe to the Karlovy Vary International Film Festival (Czech Republic). The directors get the chance to present their short films to the international industry and the public at the prestigious A-list film festival.

“Skin on Skin” has been screened at top short film festivals such as Vienna Shorts FF, where it won the audience award, Brussels Short Film Festival and  Busan International Short FF and now it is landing an A-list Festival as KVIFF.

The film is about a love story set in the most unexpected and inhospitable environment ever, a slaughterhouse and it explores the possibility that love, tenderness and passion can still come out in the worst situations.

Starring Jonas Smulders as Jakob and Jurij Drevensek as Boris, the film relies on their chemistry and evokes different films with its delicate but passionate approach, such as “Pride and Prejudice” by Joe Wright or “Call me by your name” by Luca Guadagnino.

The post “Skin on Skin”, interview with director Simon Schneckenburger appeared first on Fred Film Radio.

Catalan director Nausica Serra is taking part to the 8th edition of the Future Frames Program at the 59th Karlovy Vary Film Festival with her short film “Dissection of an incoherence in Crisis“. 

With the Future frames program for talented young directors, the European Film Promotion EFP takes ten outstanding film school graduates from throughout Europe to the Karlovy Vary International Film Festival (Czech Republic). The directors get the chance to present their short films to the international industry and the public at the prestigious A-list film festival.

“Dissection of an incoherence in Crisis” delves into the human inability to accept the superiority of others by showing the interactions between three girls playing together and their parents arguing/ discussing the route for a road trip.

Nausica Serra shows us a world in which behaviors are inherited faster than genes, especially the inability to manage envy and ego, as seen in the two central characters, Aran, the youngest daughter, and Artur, her father.

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At the heart of “Son of Happiness“, a tender and moving short film by Dominik Mirecki, lies a universal story: the push and pull between protection and freedom, love and fear, and the powerful bond between a father and his son. Selected for the Future Frames – Generation NEXT of European Cinema program at the Karlovy Vary International Film Festival, “Son of Happiness” is more than a debut—it’s a quiet revelation.

“It’s a story close to the heart. I think very emotional, real, and touching in my opinion,” says Mirecki as he introduces the film. In “Son of Happiness” the central character Beniamin, a young man with Down syndrome, dreams of becoming an actor. But that dream comes with a cost. His father, a constant and loving presence in his life, faces a dilemma: protect his son from the harshness of public judgment or let him pursue his passion, knowing the risks.

This moral conflict is the emotional axis of the film. “If he agrees and the son tries to be an actor, he knows that in 99% he will lose. But if he says no, the boy will live all the time with the feeling that he never tried.”

The inspiration for “Son of Happiness”  came from a powerful encounter. Mirecki recalls watching a Polish television program called Down the Road, which followed a group of young adults with Down syndrome traveling independently. That’s where he saw Janek Skiba, the boy who would eventually star in his film. “I remember when I saw Janek, I thought, oh my God, he’s amazing. And I must make something with him.”

Mirecki’s admiration is palpable. “He played in this film all emotions, in my opinion. Jokes, sarcasm—it’s very difficult even for a professional actor. And he cries. He fights with his father. I think he’s my hero.”

Creating a film with both professional and non-professional actors was a challenge that Mirecki embraced fully. Working with Marek Kalita, a renowned Polish actor, and Janek Skiba required a delicate balance of structure and spontaneity. “If you work with an amateur actor, you must give him space and freedom. If he trusts you, you can do everything. Janek just plays from the heart.”

Before production began, Mirecki organized rehearsals in Janek’s hometown of Gdańsk to build trust and chemistry. “We had a lot of practice—Janek, Marek, and together. Now they are friends.”

That mutual respect extended to directing as well. Mirecki, who has a background in acting, brings an intuitive approach to working with performers. “Sometimes it’s better to give a simple suggestion than a 30-minute monologue about families. The most important thing is that the actors feel free. When they are open, they can also make great suggestions.”

If there’s a central message to “Son of Happiness”  Mirecki says, it’s about unconditional support. “If you have people around you who love you, you can do everything.” He shares a touching story about Janek’s father, who learned to play guitar just to teach his son—an act Mirecki calls the “definition of love.”

He also draws from his own memories: “When I was 16, I acted in amateur theater. We rehearsed until 2 or 3 AM, and my mother always waited for me. She never said a word. That, for me, is love.”

Being selected for Future Frames is a moment of validation for Mirecki. “It’s the biggest festival in the world. I felt that we did something amazing. This film is very important for us.” Representing Poland at Karlovy Vary is just the beginning. “It’s my first film, and I hope in the future we will meet again in the main competition.”

“Son of Happiness” is more than a story about disability or dreams—it’s about recognizing the quiet power of love and the courage it takes to let someone grow. Through Janek’s deeply human performance and Mirecki’s intimate direction, the film becomes a gentle but forceful statement: freedom is an act of love.

The post “Son of Happiness”, Interview with Director Dominik Mirecki appeared first on Fred Film Radio.