FRED Film Radio - English Channel

PODCAST| Nicolò Comotti interviews Aleksey German Jr., director of the film Dovlatov.

Aleksey German Jr. is here in Berlin with his extremely ambitious film Dovlatov,  screening in the official competition of the 68th edition of the Berlinale. After his visually stunning Under the Electric Clouds that won him the Silver Bear in 2015, German returns with a film that pars his beautiful aesthetics with a fluid and bold narrative. Through the fog of 1970s Soviet Union, we experience the struggle of Sergei Dovlatov, who would then become, unbeknownst to him, one of the most influential writers in post-Soviet Russia.

Dovlatov:  Leningrad, November 1971. The city is shrouded in fog. Another anniversary of the revolution is being celebrated, but the country is not making any progress – politically, economically or culturally. Sergei has first-hand experience of this stasis. The young writer’s manuscripts are regularly rejected by the official media; his view on things and people is not desired. Others are experiencing similar problems, one of them is his friend Joseph Brodsky whom the state forces into exile. Sergei is however determined to stay and lead a normal life with his wife Lena and daughter Katya. He wants to write about discovering reality: about shipyard workers, or the construction of the metro where one day the bodies of thirty children killed during the Second World War are uncovered. Alexey German Jr’s film makes use of grand tableaux and extended tracking shots to portray the world of Russian-Jewish writer Sergei Dovlatov (1941–1990), whose brilliantly ironic texts were forbidden from being printed in the Soviet Union under Brezhnev. Out of a tragicomic rondeau of rebellion and assimilation, pain and fatigue, ensues a portrait of an era of stagnation and its destructive effects.

The post Aleksey German Jr. – Dovlatov #Berlinale2018 appeared first on Fred Film Radio.

PODCAST| Nicolò Comotti interviews Freddie Fox, Jim Broadbent and Moe Dunford, actors of the film Black 47.

The meeting with the stellar cast of Black 47 continues, and this time we get to sit and talk with the bad guys. Jim Broadbent, Moe Dunford and Freddie Fox are indeed the different facets of the malign indifference and pain that the British Empire perpetrated towards the Irish People during the Famine. However, this time around a certain Feeney will demand justice, his own way.

Black 47:  Ireland, 1847. After fighting for the British crown in the war in Afghanistan, Martin Feeney returns to his Irish homeland as a deserter. He finds his country in dire straits. Potato blight has destroyed the crops and over a million people have perished in the resulting famine. Martin’s family has also been affected: his mother is among the victims and his brother has been sentenced to death by the British occupying forces. Martin’s plan to emigrate to the USA with his sister-in-law and her children fails, and witnessing his last remaining relatives wasting away almost robs him of the will to live. In desperation, he begins a bloody vendetta across the social and political hierarchy of Ireland. To stop this wrathful avenger, the British hire Hannah who fought with Martin in Afghanistan. Lance Daly draws on motifs from the western for his drama about a dark chapter of British colonialism in neighbouring Ireland that has rarely been told on the big screen. The gritty realism of the film’s photography conveys the misery of a suffering people and describes individuals cast adrift in austere landscapes.

To discover more about the film, click here.

The post Freddie Fox, Jim Broadbent, Moe Dunford – Black 47 #Berlinale2018 appeared first on Fred Film Radio.

PODCAST| Angelo Acerbi interviews Linn da Quebrada, actress of the documentary Bixa Travesty.

Linn da Quebrada is a force of nature, a straight talking, charismatic persona with solid ideas about what she is, what she wants to be and the freedom she wants and asks for in order to be herself. In the film about her life and her work she opens up, she reveals and explains the evolution of her personal and artistic world.

Bixa Travesty:  Linn da Quebrada is a black transwoman from impoverished periurban São Paulo; she is also a pop performer who raises her voice for queers of colour from the favelas. Accompanied by her childhood friend and partner in crime, black transwoman and singer Jup do Bairro, her concerts are nothing short of dazzling. Aided by exorbitant costumes and plenty of twerking, her performances are onslaughts of electro against Brazil’s white heteronormative gender order and the machismo of the country’s funk scene. Private moments reveal her gentler side: as she showers with friends or cooks with her mother the talk turns to love, racism and poverty. Archive footage in the shape of home videos shows her in intimate performances at a hospital during her own cancer treatment. We begin to realise that Linn uses radical nudity as a means to undermine accepted gender roles. This documentary also shows her in dramatised radio interviews in which she powerfully espouses her convictions about feminism and her transsexuality: not for Linn the role of a cis woman; she’d rather be a woman with a penis whose gender identity is not bound by her genitalia but is in a permanent state of flux.

The post Linn da Quebrada – Bixa Travesty #Berlinale2018 appeared first on Fred Film Radio.

PODCAST| Angelo Acerbi interviews Andreas Struck, director of Panorama section at 68th Berlinale.

Andreas Struck talks with us about his new position as director of Panorama, and about sharing his position with Paz Lazaro and Michael Stutz. How can a triad of directors work? How do they choose the films? And what new input can they bring to consolidate tradition that Panorama holds?

Panorama section:  Artistic vision, the courage to be different, a desire for the unfamiliar, a profound historical awareness or pioneering personalities: the objective of the Panorama is to seek out from across the world new impulses in the prevailing trends and in cinematic creation and to present these in the spectrum of the programme. New works by renowned directors, debut films and discoveries celebrate their world or European premieres in the Panorama and invite to engage with them on a critical level as well as enjoying the cinematic experience. The Panorama challenges its audience and has the confidence to explore new avenues. Press Conferences and public discussions enable the press and audiences to enter into a dialogue about the films with their directors, producers and actors. At the same time, the film selection does not shy away from the current market, aiming both to sound it out and to bring it new impulses.

To discover more about the Festival, click here.

The post Andreas Struck #Berlinale2018 appeared first on Fred Film Radio.

PODCAST| Nicolò Comotti interviews Stephen Rea and James Frecheville, actors of the film Black 47.

Stephen Rea and James Frecheville join us for a chat regarding their latest work with director Lance Daly, here in competition at the Berlinale with his latest feature Black 47. We had to wait 150 years to have the first film to thoroughly tackle the despicable injustice perpetrated by the British Empire between 1845 and 1852, which caused at least one million people to die of starvation, and triggered the mass exodus of the Irish people to North America. To this day, Ireland has a population that is inferior to what it was at the beginning of the 19th century. In 2018, we can claim a bit of justice through the vengeful throttle Martin Feeney, granitically played by James Frecheville.

Black 47:  Ireland, 1847. After fighting for the British crown in the war in Afghanistan, Martin Feeney returns to his Irish homeland as a deserter. He finds his country in dire straits. Potato blight has destroyed the crops and over a million people have perished in the resulting famine. Martin’s family has also been affected: his mother is among the victims and his brother has been sentenced to death by the British occupying forces. Martin’s plan to emigrate to the USA with his sister-in-law and her children fails, and witnessing his last remaining relatives wasting away almost robs him of the will to live. In desperation, he begins a bloody vendetta across the social and political hierarchy of Ireland. To stop this wrathful avenger, the British hire Hannah who fought with Martin in Afghanistan. Lance Daly draws on motifs from the western for his drama about a dark chapter of British colonialism in neighbouring Ireland that has rarely been told on the big screen. The gritty realism of the film’s photography conveys the misery of a suffering people and describes individuals cast adrift in austere landscapes.

To discover more about the film, click here.

The post Stephen Rea, James Frecheville – Black 47 #Berlinale2018 appeared first on Fred Film Radio.

PODCAST| Nicolò Comotti interviews Göran Hugo Olsson, director of the film That Summer.

After his last film Concerning Violence, Göran Olsson receives a warm welcome back at the Berlinale with That Summer. Based on footage of exceptional rarity and cultural value, Olsson threads an extremely interesting alley through the lives of Little and Big Edith Beale, the stars that many film fans remember from the Maysles brothers’ documentary Grey Gardens. We once again are part of their family, which- by proxy – comprises some of the most iconic and influential figures of the second half of the 20th century. A real treat, and a reminder of the purest joy that comes when art does not simply mean money making.

That Summer is a feature documentary centered on the film project artist Peter Beard initiated in 1972 with Lee Radziwill about her relatives, the Beales of Grey Gardens. Lost for decades, this extraordinary footage re-emerges in a film that focuses on Beard and his family of friends, who formed an enormously influential and vibrant creative community in Montauk, Long Island (NY) in the 1970s. Featuring Peter Beard, Lee Radziwill, Edith Ewing Bouvier Beale, Edith Bouvier Beale, Andy Warhol. Including footage directed by Peter Beard, Jonas Mekas, Andy Warhol and with additional cinematography by Albert Maysles and Vincent Fremont.

To discover more about the film, click here.

The post Göran Hugo Olsson – That Summer #Berlinale2018 appeared first on Fred Film Radio.

PODCAST| Nicolò Comotti interviews Barry Keoghan, Hugo Weaving and Lance Daly, actors and director of the film Black 47.

Director Lance Daly, along with Barry Keoghan and Hugo Weaving, talks to us about their ground-breaking work together, Black 47. Tackling the an Gorta Mor (‘great famine’ in Irish) through a Western film structure definitely posed a few challenges: here at Berlinale, we hear the impact that this film had on his creator and the cast involved. Black 47 is in the 68th Berlinale’s official competition.

Black 47:  Ireland, 1847. After fighting for the British crown in the war in Afghanistan, Martin Feeney returns to his Irish homeland as a deserter. He finds his country in dire straits. Potato blight has destroyed the crops and over a million people have perished in the resulting famine. Martin’s family has also been affected: his mother is among the victims and his brother has been sentenced to death by the British occupying forces. Martin’s plan to emigrate to the USA with his sister-in-law and her children fails, and witnessing his last remaining relatives wasting away almost robs him of the will to live. In desperation, he begins a bloody vendetta across the social and political hierarchy of Ireland. To stop this wrathful avenger, the British hire Hannah who fought with Martin in Afghanistan. Lance Daly draws on motifs from the western for his drama about a dark chapter of British colonialism in neighbouring Ireland that has rarely been told on the big screen. The gritty realism of the film’s photography conveys the misery of a suffering people and describes individuals cast adrift in austere landscapes.

To discover more about the film, click here.

The post Barry Keoghan, Hugo Weaving, Lance Daly – Black 47 #Berlinale2018 appeared first on Fred Film Radio.

PODCAST| Nicolò Comotti interviews Corneliu Porumboiu, director of the documentary Infinite Football.

Corneliu Porumboiu is here at the 68th edition of the Berlinale with a quite short and yet powerful genre-defying documentary: Infinite Football. Continuing his reflection on his favourite sport – the only one he likes – Mr. Porumboiu dissects the most popular game in the world through the Don Quixotesque theories of his friend Laurentiu Ginghina. The game must evolve from its simplicity: to become free, through more stasis.

Infinite Football:  They talk about the beautiful game, but for Laurențiu Ginghină, it’s not enough. Football must be modified, streamlined, freed from restraints; corners are to be rounded off, players assigned to zones and subteams, norms revised. In retrospect, he first realized that the rules of football were wrong when he was tackled during a game in his youth, in the summer holidays, on another pitch now covered in snow, but in Vaslui, not Bucharest. The tackle hit so hard it fractured his fibula, a year later his tibia broke too, on New Year’s Eve 1987, he had to walk home in the snow and no one helped him. Today he’s a local bureaucrat with an uninspiring job, it’s no wonder he prefers to talk about the game, his own version of it, to Porumboiu, his friend, the director, who’s always listening, asking questions, nearly always in frame. Ginghină’s monologues are so rich you might think someone wrote them in advance, they proceed from the same old subject, but never stay in one place. All roads lead to football, but all roads lead away from it too, to land ownership issues, to orange farms in Florida, to political utopia and the traces left by life, to version 2.0, 3.1, 4.7, to infinity.

To discover more about the documentary, click here.

The post Corneliu Porumboiu – Infinite Football #Berlinale2018 appeared first on Fred Film Radio.

PODCAST| Nicolò Comotti interviews Ibrahim al Hussein and Qutaiba Naefa, protagonists of the film Central Airport THF.

The Brazilian director Karim Aïnouz is back at the Berlinale with his latest documentary Central Airport THF. At the festival, he came by along with his two protagonists, 20-year-old Ibrahim al Hussein, from Syria, and the Iraqi gentleman Qutaiba Naefa. FRED’s Nicolò Comotti had the pleasure to talk to them, and learn from their courage and intelligence.

Central Airport THF:  Tempelhof Airport in Berlin is Europe’s largest heritage building. It became a symbol of both National Socialist self-aggrandisement as well as of freedom during the airlift of 1948/49. Since autumn 2015 several hangars have been providing temporary shelter for refugees. Like the other 2,000 people here who have fled their homeland, Ibrahim from Syria and Qutaiba from Iraq dream of being able to make a new start. Full of hope, they work with translators, doctors, language teachers and job agents to prepare for life in their new German home. The lack of private space and communication and administrative barriers are some of the challenges they face while, on the nearby recreation area of Tempelhofer Feld, Berliners and tourists escape their daily routine. Chaos and harmony: two very different worlds in one place. Karim Aïnouz spent a year following these men in search of a place they can call home. The film’s sensitive and well-composed images capture their lives that are shaped by uncertainty, stress and anguish, but also jollity and aspirations. The building’s architecture and the changing seasons add a surreal dimension. A portrait of a city within a city that is also a snapshot of Europe caught between utopia and crisis.

The post Ibrahim al Hussein, Qutaiba Naefa – Central Airport THF #Berlinale2018 appeared first on Fred Film Radio.

PODCAST| Nicolò Comotti interviews Karim Aïnouz, director of the film Central Airport THF.

FRED’s Nicolò Comotti talks to the director Karim Aïnouz about his latest endeavour: Central Airport THF. A film born out of the disgust felt by Karim towards the inhumane depiction of the migrants by Europe’s media, Central Airport THF studies the invisible walls and flaws that encompass this very delicate issue through the investigation of a place full of contradictions: Berlin’s Tempelhof.

Central Airport THF:  Tempelhof Airport in Berlin is Europe’s largest heritage building. It became a symbol of both National Socialist self-aggrandisement as well as of freedom during the airlift of 1948/49. Since autumn 2015 several hangars have been providing temporary shelter for refugees. Like the other 2,000 people here who have fled their homeland, Ibrahim from Syria and Qutaiba from Iraq dream of being able to make a new start. Full of hope, they work with translators, doctors, language teachers and job agents to prepare for life in their new German home. The lack of private space and communication and administrative barriers are some of the challenges they face while, on the nearby recreation area of Tempelhofer Feld, Berliners and tourists escape their daily routine. Chaos and harmony: two very different worlds in one place. Karim Aïnouz spent a year following these men in search of a place they can call home. The film’s sensitive and well-composed images capture their lives that are shaped by uncertainty, stress and anguish, but also jollity and aspirations. The building’s architecture and the changing seasons add a surreal dimension. A portrait of a city within a city that is also a snapshot of Europe caught between utopia and crisis.

The post Karim Aïnouz – Central Airport THF #Berlinale2018 appeared first on Fred Film Radio.