FRED Film Radio - English Channel

Florian Pochaktlo's surprising first feature film "How To Be Normal and The Oddness of The Other World" had its premiere at the Berlin International Film Festival, in the Perspective section. The definitely personal and multi-layered take on mental health is narrated through the character of Pia, a young woman just released from a mental care facilities who tries to enter the "normal" world , the other world for her.

The main question raised is: who can tell what is normal?

Florian Pochatklo  asks this universal question , as a foundation of his film "How To Be Normal and The Oddness of The Other World" : who has the right in our contemporary world to define and declare what is normal? With this question in mind the world of Pia, the lead character of the film, is a series of invalid answers to this same question, while she tries to navigate her return to the "other" world, the one of so-called normal people.

A varied and eclectic approach to the visuals aspects of the film

Florian Pochatklo chooses an aesthetic approach that is mixed and almost schizophrenic, in terms of formats and framing and editing, both on the images and the audio. This is a mirror to Pia's perception of the world outside that pretty often is clearer and more honest that the one regular people want to admit.

Rafaela Camelo's feature " The Nature of Invisible Things" narrates an unforgettable summer two young girls lived, a summer where they learned a lot about life and the world of grown-ups. The film has been selected as the Opening one for the Generation K Plus section of the 75th Berlin International Film Festival.

3 generations, where the middle one is the most complicated

"The Nature of Invisible Things" by Rafaela Camelo presents three generations: on one side we have the young girls and the grand parents and old people they met, on the other sode the adults , the generation in the middle, that the film narrates as the most complicated, overwhelmed and confused, so much that they cannot even read their children anymore.

The issue of death explained to young kids

"The Nature of Invisible Things" deals directly with death and passing, and the most complex burden the director Rafaela Camelo had to face was explaining it to the two young girls playing the main characters. But sometimes kids can be surprising, as she experienced.

"Paternal leave" is the first feature film of Alissa Jung , who after a seres of short films decides to jump into the world fo features with a story about the responsibilities  of paternity and a man who tried to scape them. For this first film she decided to cast her own life partner, the actor Luca Marinelli,  a daring and potential risky choice, that she is glad to have made, as she explains in the interview.

The film relies on the perfect connection between the two lead character, who speak two different languages

Alissa Jung had this aspect in the story to play with, while making "Paternal Leave":  the two protagonists, the German girl Leo and her Italian father Paolo, have a serious communication issue, as they have hard time in understanding each other. This was a tool Alissa used so well, rehearsing with the actors in their own language, so that they were forced to find different ways of communicating and understanding each other.

"The Heart Is A Muscle" selected in the Panorama section of the Berlinale 2025, is a South African film directed by Imran Hamdulay, that tells the story of man struggling to become the best version of himself. the film starts from a real fact happened to the director, almost completely reconstructed for the film, that serves as starting point in a reflection on adulthood and masculinity, trying to deconstruct it to understand it better.

How can a man rebuilt himself from a difficult past?

The question Imran Hamdulay asked himself while making "The Heart Is A Muscle" is that one: can we overcome our past and become better men? This is the will of the lead character of the film played by Keenan Arrison, whose past pf suffered abused and violence and guilt interfere with his new life of husband and father. With ferocious outcomes.

Director Mehmet Akif Büyükatalay brings to the Berlin International Film Festival his new feature film "Hysteria", an intense thriller set within a film crew on the set, where an accident becomes a fuel for dangerous misunderstanding. We talk with the director on the various issue the film brings to surface, from vulnerability and the fear of strangers, to racism and xenofobia.The

Inspiration came from a series of xenophobic acts happened in Germany recently

"Hysteria" starts on a film set where a criminal arson is recreated for the shooting. This was a real fact happened in Germany as a violent gesture of xenophobia against immigrants, who were German citizens. Mehmet Akif Büyükatalay is deeply interested in this development of German society, as he explains in our talk.

The misinterpretation of religion and faith

Mehmet Akif Büyükatalay chose a simple and accidental fact ( burning a Quran in a reconstructed arson) as the element to explain and depict the enormous misconception fo religion through strict unconditional faith. Art should not be influenced by this misconception, but instead it is.

Jeanette Nordahl and actress Trine Dyrholm on Beginnings, a story about daring to face and accept the things we cannot control.

At the Berlinale, the 75th edition, director Jeanette Nordahl is back with her second feature film, “Beginnings“.

With Trine Dyrholm as her protagonist, Nordahl brought on a bg screen a story inspired by her parents’ relationship.

The film follows Ane (Dyrholm), who, in a middle of a divorce she hasn’t communicated to her children yet, is struck by a stroke. Forced to face weakness and the impossibility of being autonomous and independent, she will understand that fragility can become a strength.

Quoting Nordahl: “Beginnings is a tribute to life, where hope is found in the everyday and in daring to face and accept the things we cannot control. And that we, against all odds, might find strength in the places we least expect it.”

As her character feels very real all the time, Trine Dyrholm explains how she reached that, giving up on her actress vanity and focusing only to the journey her character has embarked on.

Ten years after “Boyhood”, Richard Linklater has brought back to Berlin a new collaboration with long-time friend and collaborator Ethan Hawke: “Blue Moon”

In competition at the 75th edition of the Berlinale, the film follows a very important and pivotal night in the life of legendary lyricist Lorenz Hart where he had to participate in his former collaborator Richard Rodgers success for his round-breaking hit Oklahoma! - 

To enter the special world of Richard Linklater, where stream of consciousness and flowing words are essential, two new entries: Andrew Scott and Margaret Qualley. 

Andrew Scott  (All Of Us Strangers, Fleabag), who plays Richard Rodgers, confirms that he perceived the film as one about friendship and “the enormous relationships that you build up within the theatre and within the movies. That is the beating heart of the script”. 

Margaret Qualley (The Substance, Kinds of Kindness) plays Elizabeth – the object of Hart’s affection and whose letters with Lorenz Hart were the material which inspired Linklater and screenwriter Robert Kaplow to make the film. 

She confesses that working with Linklater and Hawke had always been a dream for her as she’s a huge fan of their collective work.

Tricia Tuttle is at her first edition as Director of the Berlin International Film Festival, which 2025 edition of runs from February 13 to February 22. In our chat, she tackles all the fundamental issues that a film festival must face and address, pointing out how her festival, and all festivals, are in this historical moment an act of resistance.

A window on contemporary world, from every corner of it

Following its tradition, the Berlinale under the direction of Tricia Tuttle continues in its mission of  telling stories coming from every part of the world and underlining the importance of cultural identities and diversities, as, for example, started to do with all the queer film wave since the 80s.

On the tenth year’s anniversary of "Boyhood", Richard Linklater s back in Berlin to present his new film, "Blue Moon", with his old partner in crime Ethan Hawke.

The project, following the night  legendary lyricist Lorenz Hart had to “celebrate” his former collaborator Richard Rodgers for his ground-breaking hit Oklahoma! , had been in Linklater and Hawke’s plans for almost 12 years.

Brought to the director’s attention by scriptwriter and collaborator Robert Kaplow, the film draws inspiration from letters written between Hart and a young woman, which Kaplow researched for the script. 

In the film Lorenz Hart gives a very interesting advice to a young aspiring director: "Beware of love stories, friendship stories are the ones enduring”. Linklater seems to have followed this advice as "Blue Moon" is both a friendship story and an “artistic” love story.

At the 75th Berlinale, visionary filmmaker Michel Gondry and his daughter Maya Gondry present "Maya, Give Me a Title", a unique and whimsical cinematic experiment. What started as a private father-daughter ritual—Maya providing titles, Michel creating stop-motion animations—evolved into a poetic and playful journey that now reaches audiences worldwide.

Blurring the Line Between Reality and Imagination

For Michel Gondry, storytelling is about transformation. He begins with everyday moments, allowing them to spiral into surreal and magical universes. “I generally start by a very mundane life situation... and then magical things start to happen. Because if I start with something already crazy, then there is no magic. There is no surprise, there is nowhere to go.” In "Maya, Give Me a Title", this process becomes deeply personal, as each frame serves as a way to feel closer to his daughter: “When I don't see Maja for weeks, it makes me think of her every single frame. So I feel closer to her.”

From Private Exchange to Public Experience

Initially created as intimate and spontaneous collaborations, these animations have taken on new meaning now that they are being shared with the world. Maya Gondry reflects on this transition: “We chose it together. And it was quite private communication with us, but yes, it made me happy... to present it to the people that want to see it.”

Creativity: Chaos or Structure?

The film thrives on spontaneity, embracing the balance between structure and freedom. Some titles led to simple stories, while others sparked wild, unexpected narratives—each one a creative challenge for Michel Gondry: “Sometimes they are more challenging because of the title. They are more crazy. And it's fun to try to figure out a story that can include all the elements.”

A Love Letter in Motion

At its core, "Maya, Give Me a Title" is a declaration of love—from a father to his daughter. Gondry acknowledges that filmmaking, especially when personal, carries deep emotions: “I make them very specific for one person. And there is a danger... if I have feelings for a woman, and I make them too loaded with emotion, it could be scary. Yeah. But I still do it.” These animations are small yet powerful expressions of affection, imagination, and connection, making this film one of his most heartfelt works.