FRED Film Radio - English Channel

PODCAST | Matt Micucci interviews Asli Özge, director, and Emre Erkmen, cinematographer of the film All of a Sudden from the 60th BFI London Film Festival.

All of a Sudden begins with a dramatic and tragic event. From there on, we witness the repercussions it has on the life of the film’s protagonist Karsten, whose life is turned upside down all of a sudden. Yet, the film keeps us in the dark about some of the things that go on in his head as he goes through it all. There is a constant aura of mystery that makes the watch uncomfortable.

All of a Sudden is director Asli Özge’s first German-speaking feature, and quite a gripping one at that. There are a number of elements to be found in it that go beyond the usual clichés of the thriller genre (the film is also appropriately presented in the London Film Festival’s self-explanatory Thrill section), one of which is the fact that despite the dark nature of the film, it does not restrict itself to a claustrophobic cinematography. This is an aspect that we discuss in this interview with the cinematographer of the film Emre Erkmen.

ALL OF A SUDDEN. The first German-language film by the highly talented Turkish writer-director of Men on the Bridge and Lifelong – both of which screened at LFF – is as bold, imaginative and impressive as its predecessors. A dark psychological drama that expertly combines suspenseful unease, social satire and ethical analysis, it centres on Karsten (Hülk), a popular young professional in a quiet provincial town whose life begins to unravel after a woman dies in mysterious circumstances in his apartment after an impromptu party. What exactly happened? Indeed, who was the dead woman? Even Karsten’s loyal girlfriend Laura (Jentsch) wonders about his account of events. Özge’s sharp, elegantly structured script is well served by strong but nuanced performances, by striking, expressive camerawork (by Özge’s regular collaborator Emre Erkmen), and by her own very assured handling of the unexpected twists and tonal shifts in what is a compellingly acerbic cautionary tale.

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PODCAST | Chiara Nicoletti interviews Dan Brown, Ron Howard, Tom Hanks, Felicity Jones, Omar Sy and Irrfan Khan on the film Inferno.

FRED Film Radio attended the press conference and press junket for the world premiere of Inferno.

The city of Florence is the real protagonist of the film as 90% of Inferno, the third film adapted from Dan Brown’s novels, takes place there. In this third chapter of Robert Langdon’s adventures, the famous symbolist will have to solve an “Dantesque” enigma to prevent the world from falling under a pestilential plague which might be caused by a virus created by a crazy millionaire.

At Langdon’ side, a new entry, Felicity Jones playing doctor Sienna Brooks.

Since Florence is the main location in the film, the city was chosen ton host the World premiere and the official press conference. Dan Brown, Ron Howard, Omar Sy, Felicity Jones and protagonist Tom Hanks attended. They have their own detailed ideas on their own ideas of what hell would be like, or what hell represents.

Since overpopulation is portrayed in the film as the biggest threat for humankind, Tom Hanks explains that for him, it’s not overpopulation but Ignorance to be the world’s imminent danger.

INFERNO. When Robert Langdon wakes up in an Italian hospital with amnesia, he teams up with Dr. Sienna Brooks, and together they must race across Europe against the clock to foil a deadly global plot.

The post Interview with actors, director and author of “Inferno” appeared first on Fred Film Radio.

PODCAST | Matt Micucci interviews Paolo Cherchi Usai, one of the founders of the Pordenone Silent Film Festival and curator of its “Canon Revisited” section.

Paolo Cherchi Usai, who is among other things the Senior Curator of the Motion Picture Department at George Eastman House, was one of the founders of Le Giornate del Cinema Muto 35 years ago.

He is the curator of the section titled “Canon Revisited,” which puts silent films often highlighted by historians, critics and other such figures as landmark titles in the history of cinema to the test.

We talk about what a canon is and whether there is a need for it in cinema. He also discusses some of the titles in the program this year, picking out a number of highlights. Given the fact that he was among the founders of this wonderful festival, we take this opportunity to ask him how he believes the festival has evolved over the years.

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PODCAST | Matt Micucci interviews James Curtis, author of William Cameron Menzies: The Shape of Film to Come from the 35th Pordenone Silent Film Festival.

Having written a number of must-read biographies on such classic Hollywood greats as James Whale, W.C. Fields and Preston Sturges, James Whale released his book on William Cameron Menzies, titled The Shape of Film to Come, last year (the title comes from the Menzies film Things to Come, 1936).

This year, the 35th Pordenone Silent Film Festival dedicated a section of its program to Menzies and some of the highlights from the silent period. But who was William Cameron Menzies?

In short, he was an innovator. The birth of the “production design,” the part of filmmaking dedicated to coming up with a visual concept of the film, can be traced back to him. He won the first Academy Award for Art Direction – for The Dove, released in 1923 and of which only five reels survive to this day – and worked on such productions as Gone With the Wind, The Eagle and The Thief of Baghdad to name but a very few.

The latter, starring Douglas Fairbanks, is screened at Le Giornate del Cinema Muto as the closing film, and will be accompanied by a full orchestra and a restored original score.

Curtis introduces Menzies to any of our listeners who may not be fami liar with him and the impact he had on film. He also talks about some of his works as a director, including Our Town, Things to Come and Invaders from Mars.

The post James Curtis – William Cameron Menzies #PordenoneSilent appeared first on Fred Film Radio.

PODCAST | Matt Micucci interviews Eva Hieschler, curator of the Other City Symphonies section of the 35th Pordenone Silent Film Festival.

The city symphony film was a type of film that was made in the interwar years during the 20’s and 30’s. It was really a style that emerged during the silent era, but its influence on the cinematic language is unquestionable. To talk about it in more detail, we met with the curator of a section at the 35th Pordenone Silent Film Festival, Eva Hieschler, who is an expert on the topic.

The program, named Other City Symphonies (also because it is a follow up of the program presented at last year’s edition) because it highlights films that reveal that city symphonies were not only a European thing, aside from the fact that they are films that are rarely talked about, aside from the well-known masterpieces of the genre, such as Walter Ruttamnn’s Berlin: Symphony of a Great City (1927).

Aside from talking about some of the films in this year’s program, Eva discusses what it is that defines this type of film as well as what type of directors were making them.

The post Eva Hielscher – City symphonies #PordenoneSilent appeared first on Fred Film Radio.

PODCAST | Matt Micucci interviews David Robinson, film critic and former artistic director of the Pordenone Silent Film Festival.

If you have an interest in film history and criticism, chances are, you have read at least some of David Robinson‘s writings on cinema. The usual FRED introduction here is skipped for a reason – the list of the things Robinson has done and continues to do would have been too lengthy. Also, given the fact that we are in Pordenone for the Silent Film Festival, it is almost obligatory about his almost two decades as the festival’s director and the festival’s evolution during this time.

This year, the festival celebrated its 35th edition, and it is the first edition of Robinson as a spectator: “now I know why people like this festival so much,” he says. After talking about the festival we get into a discussion of silent cinema in general and how silent cinema can be promoted to a modern audience, as well as whether or not an audience naturally reacts differently to silent cinema than contemporary cinema (or even just any ‘talkie’).

In the second part of the interview, Robinson, the official biographer of Charlie Chaplin, reveals some inside scoop on his latest book on Chaplin that he is currently writing, and will focus on the film that Chaplin was working on before he died, and which was therefore never made.

The post David Robinson – Giornate del Cinema Muto #PordenoneSilent appeared first on Fred Film Radio.

PODCAST | Angelo Acerbi interviews filmmaker Gus Van Sant, who talks about the exhibition dedicated to him hosted at the National Museum of Cinema in Turin.

The fall brings new events to town, and among them the exhibition dedicated to Gus Van Sant, housed by the National Museum of Cinema at Mole Antonelliana from October 6th, 2016 to January 9th, 2017.

We met with the director Gus Van Sant himself in Torino, to talk about the exhibition. We had a nice chat about his art, that went beyond filmaking; his approach and use of photography as an alternative expressing tool, but not only; and his thoughts on the necessity and meaning of films on lgbt issues, in our times.

(…and he’s a fan of the TV show Transparent.)

The post Gus Van Sant – Exhibition at the National Museum of Cinema in Turin, Italy appeared first on Fred Film Radio.

PODCAST | Matt Micucci interviews filmmaker Krzysztof Zanussi, who introduced the 1928 film Pan Tadeusz at the 35th Pordenone Silent Film Festival.

Filmmaker Krzystof Zanussi attended the Pordenone Silent Film Festival (Giornate del Cinema Muto) for the first time this year. Which is hard to believe considering his passion for film, as our conversation with him shows.

Zanussi reveals his excitement at being at the festival and visiting Pordenone, a city with which he has personal ties. He is here also for a special reason: to give an introduction to Pan Tadeusz, a 1928 film by Ryszard Ordynski, which to this day is one of the only surviving films from the Polish silent era. When we ask him about the reason behind the scarce quantity of Polish film from the early cinema, he points out that films were not only the only things that Poland lost during the second world war.

In this interview, we also try to understand what Polish cinema was like in those days, the influence that it had in the cinema that was to follow from Poland, and even specifically talk about Pan Tadeusz, which he indtroduces as a very Polish film. Zanussi’s fascinting theories on cinema, not only in its silent form, broaden the scope of this interview, as we ponder on such things as what changes the introduction of sound brought to the cinematic language.

The post Krzysztof Zanussi – Pan Tadeusz (1928) #PordenoneSilent appeared first on Fred Film Radio.

PODCAST | Bénédicte Prot interviews Oliver Père, managing director of ARTE France Cinéma.

Managing director of ARTE France Cinéma Olivier Père underlines the desire to share and promote European films at the root of the brand new and innovative ARTE Kino Festival, a unique initiative instigated by French/German broadcaster ARTE in cooperation with the platform Festival Scope which allows 50 000 viewers from 44 countries to watch ten quality European features over ten days, free of charge.

Père, also a renowned figure on the international festival circuit, tells us more about the experience offered by ARTE Kino, the festival’s selection criteria, the community the event intends to connect together, and the €50,000 Nespresso Prize which will be awarded by the viewers themselves at the end of each edition.

The post Olivier Père – ARTE France Cinéma #ArteKinoFestival appeared first on Fred Film Radio.

PODCAST | Chiara Nicoletti interviews actor Mark Whalberg on his role in the film Deepwater Horizon.

FRED’s Chiara Nicoletti interviews Mark Wahlberg on the occasion of the italian release of Deepwater Horizon. The film focuses on paying homage to the victims of the oil platform explosion of 2010 in USA that led to the biggest ecologic disaster in the history of United States’.

Deepwater Horizon portrays these working class heroes, not only the victims but also the 115 people that not only tried to save their colleagues instead of jumping down on lifeboats but desperately tried to stop the oil from leaking out and spreading into the ocean.

DEEPWATER HORIZON. On April 20th, 2010, one of the world’s largest man-made disasters occurred on the Deepwater Horizon in the Gulf of Mexico. Directed by Peter Berg (Lone Survivor), this story honors the brave men and women whose heroism would save many on board, and change everyone’s lives forever.

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