FRED Film Radio - English Channel

PODCAST | Matt Micucci interviews Gerard Walsh, director of the film Release.

Director Gerard Walsh talks about his latest feature film, Release, which was presented at the 29th Galway Film Fleadh. In this interview, Walsh tells us about his interest in mixed martial arts and “redemption films,” and how they influenced the film. He also tells us that the style and story of Release were very much influenced by his earlier short film, Bound. Walsh also tells us about the journey of making the film and the various challenges he encountered along the way. “I like to have the pressure on,” he says.

Release: after spending several years locked up for armed robbery, disgraced boxer Andrew Keating is granted early release. As he struggles to find his purpose in life, he finds the sport of mixed martial arts and begins to thrive, but when his criminal past rears its ugly head, Andrew must face his demons in order to live his life.

For the official website of the festival, click here.

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PODCAST | Matt Micucci interviews James Creedon, director of the film Thanks to Your Noble Shadow.

Director James Creedon talks about his documentary, Thanks to Your Noble Shadow. The film was shown during the 29th Galway Film Fleadh. Thanks to Your Noble Shadow looks at the life of Jennie O’Sullival, one of Ireland’s last Catholic missionary nuns. She spent 75 years in Japan before returning to her native land. Just after her 100th birthday, she decided to have her memories recorded by her younger cousin, James. In this interview, Creedon talks to us about the journey of the making of Thanks to Your Noble Shadow – one that, as he says, totally transformed him as a person. The film, he explained, evolved during production. Here, he also discusses some of the themes dealt with in the film, such as mortality and the Catholic religion. He also tells us about the use of archive footage in Thanks to Your Noble Shadow and the challenges of making his first feature.

Thanks to Your Noble Shadow: after 75 years in Japan, Jennie O’Sullivan has returned to her native Ireland. Just after her 100th birthday, this energetic, elderly nun agrees to have her memories recorded by her younger cousin, James. Over one year, they voyage together through the various episodes in her epic life story. It begins in the staunchly Catholic Ireland of her youth, which she left in 1935, and continues in Paris where the Order she belonged to was founded. Later in Japan, James discovers a wellspring of love for Jennie amongst a legion of adoring past pupils. What is it about this woman that sees past pupils travel thousands of miles to visit her in Ireland? Interspersed with archive footage of Ireland and Japan in the early 20th century, this biographical film weaves a journey through Irish and Japanese history as well as Eastern and Western spiritual traditions.

For the official website of the festival, click here.

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PODCAST | Matt Micucci interviews Katrina Costello, director of the film The Silver Branch.

Director Katrina Costello talks about The Silver Branch, her feature debut, which had its world premiere at the 29th Galway Film Fleadh. The film is a poetic documentary inspired by the wild landscape of the Burren in County Clare, Ireland. It is also driven by the words and presence of Patrick McCormack, a farmer and poet who has lived off the Burren like his descendants. Costello talks about the experience of making her first feature and what prompted it to make it about the Burren. She also discusses the aspects of her filmmaking journey through the movie, from the cinematography to the editing process, and shares with us her thoughts on the deeper themes concealed in The Silver Branch.

The Silver Branch is a philosophical vision-poem on the life of farmer/poet Patrick McCormack, descendant of the generations of farmers who have lived off the wild landscape of the Burren in County Clare. Patrick and his rural community are drawn into a divisive battle with the Government, leading him and a small group of friends to the Supreme Court to decide on the fate of this iconic wilderness. Through Patrick’s eyes, and in his words, this beautifully shot film immerses us in the exquisite texture of the natural world, bringing us a rare glimpse of a disappearing way of life with all its richness and roguery, and leading to a deep connection with the Earth and our ancestral wild spirit. And though it is centred around one man’s life and a bitter-sweet end-of-era evocation, it explores much deeper themes: the relationship between man and landscape, between tradition and spirit, between body and soul. The Silver Branch is a story of hope – hope that we as individuals can make a difference to our universe.

For the official website of the festival, click here.

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PODCAST | Matt Micucci interviews Robert Mullan, director of the film Mad to Be Normal.

Robert Mullan presented his latest film, Mad to Be Normal, at the 29th Galway Film Fleadh. The film talks about R.D. Laing, a Scottish psychiatrist who wrote extensively on mental illness, and is particularly remembered for his radical LSD experiments in the 1960’s. Mullan talks about why he decided to make a movie about Laing, and the fact that he wanted to avoid stereotyping mentally ill people. He also talked about his collaboration with his cast – headed by David Tennant in the role of Laing, and featuring Elizabeth Moss and Gabriel Byrne – and crew. Mullan also discusses his personal opinion on Laing’s psychiatry, his upcoming project based on the life of James Joyce, and more.

Mad to Be Normal reveals the story of R.D. Laing, the famous psychiatrist and one of Scotland’s greatest ever minds. Working out of Kingsley Hall in East London throughout the 1960s and 1970s, Laing performed various daring experiments on people who were diagnosed as mentally disturbed. His revolutionary methods involved experimenting with LSD on his patients and practicing a form of self-­healing known as metanoia, causing outrage and controversy in the medical profession and radically changing attitudes and perceptions of mental health around the world.

For the official website of the festival, click here.

The post Robert Mullan – Mad to Be Normal #FilmFleadh2017 appeared first on Fred Film Radio.

PODCAST | Matt Micucci interviews Patrick Farrelly, co-director of the film Jaha’s Promise.

Patrick Farrelly presented his film Jaha’s Promise, which he co-directed with Kate O’Callaghan, at the 29th Galway Film Fleadh. This documentary talks about the life of Jaha Dukareh, a Gambian anti-female genital mutilation campaigner and activist her country of birth to confront the harmful tradition. Farrelly talks the challenges of making a documentary about this particularly delicate topic and approaching a documentary without knowing what the outcomes and developments of the story will be. Other topics discussed in the interview include the origins of the project, how Farrelly was able to connect with West Africa (a place he had never been to before), and more.

Jaha’s Promise is the story of a young woman’s battle against extraordinary odds to eradicate the practices that almost destroyed her life: child marriage and female genital mutilation. When Jaha was 15 she was brought to New York from her native Gambia to marry a middle-aged man she had never met before. Jaha escaped the ‘marriage’ and 10 years later returned home to launch a campaign that puts her on a collision course with her own family and society’s traditions. The documentary is the story of that struggle, a narrative of success and setbacks until she achieves a stunning victory that brings radical change to her society. For the girl who was powerless in the face of those who diminished and banished her, it is a moment when she feels close to recovering her identity, closer to finding peace.

For the official website of the festival, click here.

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PODCAST | Matt Micucci interviews James Demo, director of the film The Peacemaker.

Director James Demo presented his film The Peacemaker at the 29th Galway Film Fleadh. The documentary is an intimate portrait of international peacemaker Padraig O’Malley. But, as Demo himself states in this interview, it is more about the “why” he does what he does than the “how.” The director also explains that he didn’t necessarily set out to make a documentary, but that Padraig’s story was very unique. He tells us what it is that interested him about Padraig, the personal connection between Padraig and his work, how he was able to establish a level of trust with him, and more.

The Peacemaker is an intimate portrait of international peacemaker Padraig O’Malley, who helps make peace for others but struggles to find it for himself. The film takes us from Padraig’s isolated life in Cambridge, Massachusetts, to some of the most dangerous crisis zones on Earth – from Northern Ireland to Kosovo, Nigeria to Iraq – over five years – as he works a peacemaking model based on his recovery from addiction. We meet Padraig in the third act of his life in a race against time to find some kind of salvation for both the world and himself.

For the official website of the festival, click here.

The Peacemaker – Trailer from Central Square Films on Vimeo.

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PODCAST | Matt Micucci interviews Aisling Walsh, director of the film Maudie.

Aisling Walsh talks about her film Maudie, which was featured in the program of the 29th Galway Film Fleadh. The film is based on the life of Canadian folk artist Maud Lewis, here interpreted by the great actress Sally Hawkins. Ethan Hawke is also featured in the movie and plays the part of Maud’s husband. Walsh talks about Maud Lewis and how she became involved in the project. Later in the interview, she also talks about how her training in painting influences her filmmaking. Other topics discussed include working with Hawkins and Hawke on the film, the “love story” aspect of Maudie, the importance of landscape in the film, and more.

Maudie is based on the true story of folk artist Maud Lewis (Sally Hawkins) and the unlikely romance between Maud and a hardened reclusive bachelor, Everett Lewis (Ethan Hawke). Maud, a bright-eyed, intelligent woman, hunched with crippled arthritic hands, yearns to be independent from her overprotective family. She escapes her solitary existence through her art, dreaming away the days, until in her early 30s she finds, and answers, an ad for a housekeeper. Everett Lewis is a 40-year-old bachelor. Tall, skinny and shabby, abandoned by his parents at a very young age, he has nevertheless managed to become a proud and self-sufficient man, largely by collecting scraps and peddling fish. He lives in a 10×12 foot house that has neither running water nor electricity, but at least it’s all his.

For the official website of the festival, click here.

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PODCAST | Chiara Nicoletti interviews Tom Holland and Jon Watts, actor and director of the film Spider-Man: Homecoming.

Director Jon Watts and actor Tom Holland have traveled around the world to introduce Spider-Man: Homecoming, the first chapter of the Marvel Cinematic Universe dedicated to the teenager superhero. In Rome, Tom Holland reveals how he wanted his Spider-Man to be a real teenager, enthusiastic about his superpowers but at the same time having to face adolescence and its big and complicated issues. Spiderman is an entry level superhero and so is the villain he has to fight against: The Vulture played by Michael Keaton. After Batman and Birdman, the actor portrays a working class villain who thinks capitalism has ruined the world. In the Marvel cinematic universe where everything takes place, capitalism is represented by Tony Stark/Iron Man aka Robert Downey Jr. Tom Holland shares a lot of anecdotes with the audience, from his “unusual” way of finding out he got the part to the first time he wore the Spiderman costume and his weird first encounter with Robert Downey Jr.

Spider-Man: Homecoming: young Peter Parker/Spiderman (Tom Holland), who made his sensational debut in Captain America: Civil War, begins to navigate his newfound identity as the web-slinging super hero in Spider-Man: Homecoming. Thrilled by his experience with the Avengers, Peter returns home, where he lives with his Aunt May (Marisa Tomei), under the watchful eye of his new mentor Tony Stark (Robert Downey, Jr.). Peter tries to fall back into his normal daily routine – distracted by thoughts of proving himself to be more than just your friendly neighbourhood Spider-Man – but when the Vulture (Michael Keaton) emerges as a new villain, everything that Peter holds most important will be threatened.

For the film official website, click here

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PODCAST | Samantha Sartori interviews Akihiro Shiota and Yuki Mamiya, director and actress of the film Wet Woman in the Wind – Kaze ni Nureta Onna.

At the North American Premier of Wet woman in the wind we met the director Akihiro Shiota and the protagonist Yuki Mamiya. We talk about how Shiota was involved in this project and the challenge for Yuki Mamiya to play a very physically intense role in this unique and unforgettable interpretation of a genre that reveals a new twist: the role of the woman. Thanks to the interpreter Yuko Torihara.

Wet Woman in the Wind – Kaze ni Nureta Onna: a tornado of unbridled sexual desire is unleashed when a free-spirited seductress sets her sights on a reclusive playwright in this stream-of-consciousness tale. This striking entry in Nikkatsu’s “Roman Porno” redux series transcends its sexploitation raison d’être by featuring a character who overturns the inhibitions of all who cross her path. Director Shiota cuts to the chase, taking advantage of the subgenre’s sparse requirements: there’s a sex scene every ten minutes with a total running time no longer than 80 minutes. The gleefully anarchic plot explores the human psyche through sexuality within a psychodrama that is as hilarious as it is titillating. Featuring a tour de force performance by Yuki Mamiya, Wet Woman in the Wind may prove to be the visceral climax of the series. North American Premiere.

For the official page of the festival, click here

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PODCAST | Samantha Sartori interviews Mikhail Red and Arnold Reyes, director and actor of the film Birdshot.

We meet Mikhail Red, a new talent from the Philippines. The 24 year-old director talks about his second feature film, Birdshot, already awarded the “Asian Future Best Film Award” at Tokyo International Film Festival 2016. Red was also recognized as best New Director at Vancouver Film Fest for his first feature film, Rekorder. The star of the movie, Arnold Reyes, joined our conversation and discussed his experience on the set of one of the strongest movies of this year’s festival.

Birdshot: in this intense, slow-burning thriller, farm girl Maya inadvertently commits a crime while practicing her rifle skills out in the wild. As the local police start investigating this incident they make a shocking discovery that leads to a different, truly disturbing case. Young altruistic policeman Diego pursues this mystery but is hindered by his world-weary and corrupt senior officers. Featuring a tour de force performance by newcomer Mary Joy Apostol as Maya, Birdshot folds biting social commentary into a cleverly nuanced screenplay. Buoyed by dynamic visual storytelling rich in metaphor, this deliberately paced parable about modern day Filipino society sinks its claws into you, proving director Mikhail Red one of the most eloquent voices in Asian cinema today.

For the official page of the festival, click here

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