FRED Film Radio - English Channel

Following its success at the Sundance Festival and the Rome Film Festival, “It’s never over: Jeff Buckley” comes to Italian cinemas as a special event, only on March 16, 17 and 18, sixty years after his birth.

The film is directed by Oscar®-nominated filmmaker Amy Berg (“Deliver Us from Evil”, “Janis: Little Girl Blue”, “West of Memphis”) and co-produced by Brad Pitt.

“It’s difficult to imagine a time when I wasn’t attempting to make the Jeff Buckley doc. It’s been on my bucket list since I made my first film in 2006. And maybe, since I first heard Grace in 1994. It changed my life forever. It literally became the “tear that hangs inside my soul forever”.

With these words Amy Berg implicitly reveals why “It’s never over: Jeff Buckley” is her most personal film among the numerous documentaries and features she directed along her filmmaker career.

It has been a long road from 2007 to today — the year Amy Berg first met Mary Guibert, Jeff’s mother and custodian of the musician and songwriter’s archives. After exploring that sea of memories and listening to the audio of the last messages Jeff left on his mother’s voicemail, Amy Berg had no doubts: the documentary was the right path to restore Jeff Buckley and his musical, human and emotional legacy to the world.

Mary Guibert wanted a fiction film to tell the story of her son’s life, and for years Amy Berg tried to convince her to change her mind, until she finally said yes.

“I wanted Jeff to speak for himself” Amy Berg has stated many times, and she stayed true to that goal with the documentary.

“His story really comes alive when you sit with the three main women in his life and hear their stories and feel their pain. The film starts and ends with them because you get to know him through his music and these defining relationships” writes Amy Berg in her director’s notes.

In this interview, the filmmaker explains why she felt that the best way to talk about Jeff Buckley  was not only through his music but also through the voice and the memories of the most important women in his life.

Throughout his brief life, Jeff Buckley had to contend with the ghost of a father he met only once, yet who was also a music icon. Despite being aware of his own talent , which was neither derivative nor imitative of his father’s, Jeff Buckley was first a boy and then a man who had to fight hard to vanquish his inner demons and find his place in the world.

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Speaking with Fred Film Radio at the Cinema Made in Italy Festival in London, Valeria Golino reflected on the rare moment of presenting four films in the festival’s programme: “A Brief Affair”, “Fuori”, “Gioia” and “Elisa”. The acclaimed actress described the experience as both exciting and slightly overwhelming, but also deeply rewarding after decades in the industry. Now at a stage in her career where she can choose projects she truly believes in, Golino said she still feels a genuine love for her work and remains grateful to continue exploring new roles.

Valeria Golino also spoke about the evolving opportunities for women in cinema. She noted that twenty years ago, it would have been far less common for an actress over fifty to be working as frequently as she is today. Instead, she finds herself taking on complex, vibrant roles rather than being limited to stereotypical parts. For Valeria Golino, this shift reflects a positive change within the industry, allowing women to remain creatively active well beyond what was once considered their “prime”.

When choosing projects, Valeria Golino explained that she is drawn to roles that challenge and even unsettle her. Rather than repeating familiar territory, she looks for characters that make her uncertain about whether she can fully embody them. That sense of risk, she said, keeps the work exciting and prevents her from becoming bored with herself as an actor.

Across the films she presents at the festival, Valeria Golino recognised a shared fascination with moral ambiguity. As an artist, she said she is interested in exploring characters and situations that exist beyond simple judgments of right and wrong. While she considers herself politically conscious as a citizen, her approach to art allows for greater freedom—an opportunity to examine difficult or uncomfortable aspects of human behaviour without moralising.

The conversation also touched on “A Brief Affair”, directed by Ludovica Rampoldi, and “Fuori”, Mario Martone’s biographical film about writer Goliarda Sapienza. Valeria Golino revealed that she had known Sapienza personally as a young actor, later directing an adaptation of her novel “The Art of Joy” before ultimately portraying the writer on screen. The experience, she said, felt like completing a remarkable personal and artistic circle. Reflecting on her approach to playing real-life figures, Valeria Golino explained that she focuses less on imitation and more on capturing a person’s spirit-evoking gestures, memories and emotional traces that bring them back to life on screen.

With four fascinating and distinct films showcased at the festival, Valeria Golino once again proves why she is such an icon and trailblazer in the industry, whose career in front and behind the camera continues apace.

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At the Cinema Made in Italy festival at BFI Southbank, acclaimed Italian screenwriter Ludovica Rampoldi presented her feature directorial debut, “A Brief Affair” with Valeria Golino. Speaking to FRED Film Radio, Ludovica Rampoldi discussed transforming a familiar story of love and betrayal into a psychological exploration of desire, identity and emotional growth.

Known for her work on projects including “Gomorrah”, “The Traitor” and “The Bad Guy”, Ludovica Rampoldi explained that the story for “A Brief Affair” had been with her for many years. Originally written in her twenties, she later revisited the script with a new perspective. “The questions of the story were still contemporary”, she said, “but the answers I had given felt moralistic. With time, your view becomes softer and kinder”.

The film follows two couples whose lives become dangerously intertwined after a secret affair begins. What starts as a romance gradually evolves into a psychological thriller, drawing inspiration from classics such as “Fatal Attraction” while shifting the perspective toward the female character, often cast as the antagonist. Ludovica Rampoldi also drew on theatrical influences, citing playwrights such as Edward Albee, Yasmina Reza and Harold Pinter, using intimate spaces to explore the complexity and ambiguity of human relationships.

At its heart, the film becomes a journey of self-understanding for its protagonist, who enters the affair searching for answers about herself and her desires. “For me, what matters in the end is not whether the couples stay together or separate,” Ludovica Rampoldi said. “What matters is that each character finds their own path and voice”.

Presenting “A Brief Affair” in London as part of Cinema Made in Italy was, Ludovica Rampoldi said, a great honour. After years working as one of Italy’s most respected screenwriters, she now hopes this debut marks the beginning of a new chapter behind the camera.

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Damiano Michieletto spoke to Fred Film Radio at the Cinema Made in Italy festival in London about his feature debut “Primavera”, a historical drama inspired by Antonio Vivaldi’s work with the girls of a Venetian orphanage in the early 18th century. Based on Tiziano Scarpa’s novel “Stabat Mater”, the film follows Cecilia, a young violinist whose life is transformed when Vivaldi arrives as a teacher, sparking both a creative awakening and a deeper search for freedom.

Although the film explores Vivaldi’s origins, the opera director was keen to emphasise that “Primavera” is not a traditional biopic. Instead, the story unfolds through Cecilia’s perspective, exploring her struggle to imagine a future beyond the confines of the orphanage. For Damiano Michieletto, the themes of freedom, emancipation and self-discovery felt surprisingly modern, despite the 18th-century setting. Music plays a central role in that journey, functioning almost like a character in the film itself and reflecting the emotional connection between Cecilia and Vivaldi.

Drawing on extensive historical research, Damiano Michieletto and his creative team aimed to capture the atmosphere of these Venetian institutions without turning the film into a strict historical reconstruction. Rather than filming in Venice, much of the film was shot in Rome, allowing the team to reinterpret the setting while staying faithful to the spirit of the place. The director was particularly interested in portraying the restrictive nature of life inside the orphanage, contrasted with the vibrant world outside — a world the girls can glimpse but rarely experience.

At the heart of the film is the relationship between Cecilia and Vivaldi, played by Tecla Insolia and Michele Riondino. Damiano Michieletto described their connection not as a romantic one, but as the meeting of two lonely individuals brought together through music. Cecilia’s journey becomes one of discovering her own voice and identity, while Vivaldi’s presence helps unlock new possibilities in her life. The film also reflects on the enduring power of music itself, which Damiano Michieletto describes as something capable of creating empathy and emotional connection beyond words.

Bringing “Primavera” to London as part of the Cinema Made in Italy festival was particularly meaningful for Damiano Michieletto, who has long associated the city with creativity, theatre and music. With the film set to receive a UK release, he expressed both excitement and curiosity about how British audiences might respond to its story. Ultimately, he hopes viewers will leave with a renewed appreciation for Vivaldi’s music, as well as the film’s central message about freedom, courage and the possibility of finding one’s own “springtime”, even in the most difficult circumstances.

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Isabel Coixet spoke to Fred Film Radio at the Cinema Made in Italy festival in London about her latest film “Three Goodbyes”, an adaptation of stories by the late Italian writer Michela Murgia. Blending elements of humour, tenderness and melancholy, the film follows Marta and Antonio as their relationship reaches an unexpected turning point, becoming a meditation on love, mortality and what it truly means to be alive.

The acclaimed Spanish filmmaker explained that “Three Goodbyes” draws from two stories in Murgia’s collection, which she combined into a single narrative centred on Marta and Antonio. Although the director never met Murgia, she immersed herself deeply in the writer’s world, speaking with friends, collaborators and family members to better understand her personality and perspective. For Isabel Coixet, the film also serves as a way of continuing Murgia’s presence, allowing new audiences to discover her writing through cinema.

While the story deals with serious themes — including illness and the end of a relationship — Isabel Coixet was keen to maintain a tone that reflects the contradictions of real life. Even in the darkest situations, she noted, moments of humour and absurdity inevitably appear. That balance is embodied by the performances of Alba Rohrwacher and Elio Germano, two of Italy’s most acclaimed actors, whose chemistry helps make the characters’ shared history believable even in the brief moments we see them together on screen.

Visually, Isabel Coixet opted for a more intimate style, shooting on 35mm and framing the film in a 4:3 format to avoid turning Rome into a postcard backdrop. Instead, the focus remains tightly on the characters and their emotional journey. Through small flashbacks and fragmented memories — sometimes evoking the texture of old home movies — the film captures how people remember past relationships and the lingering emotions that come with them.

Presenting “Three Goodbyes” in London as part of Cinema Made in Italy offers Isabel Coixet the chance to see how the film resonates with international audiences. While she believes the story is one of the most universal she has made, she is curious to see how British viewers respond. Ultimately, she hopes audiences leave the cinema with a renewed awareness of life’s fragility — and the reminder that, as she puts it, life is short and the only thing we truly have is the present moment.

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At the 16th Cinema Made in Italy festival at BFI Southbank, director Francesco Sossai spoke to Fred Film Radio about his gently melancholic road movie “The Last One for the Road”. The film follows two middle-aged misfits drifting across the Veneto countryside who unexpectedly pick up a shy architecture student, turning their wandering journey into a reflection on friendship, storytelling and contemporary Italy.

Francesco Sossai explained that the emotional core of the film comes from his own experiences in northern Italy after the 2008 financial crisis, when many people in his region found themselves outside the traditional industrial workforce. He recalls spending time with men who drifted from town to town, drinking and talking late into the night, yet who carried a deep “inner map” of the Veneto landscape. While the events in the film are fictionalised, that feeling of wandering friendship and quiet displacement became the starting point for the film’s trio of lovable outsiders.

The film’s warm, grainy texture comes from Francesco Sossai’s decision to shoot on film rather than digital. For him, this wasn’t simply about nostalgia but about the ritual of cinema. Working with celluloid creates a shared discipline between the director, cinematographer and crew and connects the film to a cinematic tradition while still engaging with the present.

When Filippo Scotti joins the story as Giulio, an introverted architecture student drawn into the orbit of the two older drifters, the film opens up into an intergenerational encounter. Sossai says Scotti’s greatest strength as an actor is his ability to listen, something that helped create a natural chemistry with co-stars Sergio Romano and Pierpaolo Capovilla. Looking back, the director described the film as a kind of “Polaroid” of the time they spent together making it.

Ultimately, for Francesco Sossai, “The Last One for the Road” echoes the spirit of classic Italian comedy — speaking about serious themes in a light way. While Sossai admits he isn’t particularly optimistic about the world today, he believes cinema can still create moments of connection. The film invites audiences to stay present and listen to the stories unfolding around them — and bringing it to BFI Southbank, a place he describes as one of cinema’s “temples,” was a dream. As he joked, it probably also helps that the film tends to connect especially well with audiences who appreciate a drink.

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Laura Samani spoke to Fred Film Radio at the Cinema Made in Italy festival in London about her latest feature “A Year of School”. Premiering at the Venice Film Festival, the coming-of-age story follows Fred, a Swedish teenager who arrives in Trieste and becomes the only girl in a class of boys during their final year of school. With its playful tone and moments of comedy, the film invites audiences to reconnect with teenage memories while exploring the complicated mix of desire, friendship and belonging that shapes that age.

After the intense process of making her debut “Small Body”, Laura Samani said she felt the need for a lighter story. It had been emotionally demanding to write, develop and bring to audiences, so working on a coming-of-age film with young actors allowed her to shift the energy. The story also has a personal connection: Laura Samani attended the same school in Trieste where the novel is set and first read it while sitting “at the very same desks” as the characters.

At its heart, “A Year of School” is a film about desire — and about how differently it can be expressed depending on gender. Fred wants two things at once: she falls in love with one of the boys but also wants to belong to their group as an equal. According to Laura Samani, the tension between those desires drives the story, because unlike the boys, she cannot freely have both. Language reinforces this dynamic: the characters switch between Italian and English, reflecting the idea that men and women sometimes feel as though they “don’t speak the same language”. For Laura Samani, language also becomes a subtle tool of power, as Fred gradually adapts to the group’s language and behaviour.

The film also plays with perspective. At the beginning, viewers are placed within the boys’ point of view, almost sharing their gaze as they observe Fred. As the story unfolds, that perspective gradually shifts toward her. Laura Samani explained that she was also interested in exploring masculine fragility, suggesting that while society has focused on empowering women in recent years, young men are sometimes left without clear emotional references. By the end of the film, she hopes audiences will understand everyone’s motivations — even if Fred ultimately emerges as the one who sees the situation most clearly.

Set in 2007, the film captures a moment just before social media reshaped teenage life and when Europe still seemed full of promise with the expansion of the Schengen Area. Bringing “A Year of School” to London as part of Cinema Made in Italy also offers Laura Samani a chance to see how the story resonates beyond Italy. While she believes the struggles of adolescence are universal, she suggested that audiences here might approach the film differently, noting that in Italy people can sometimes be more “provincial” or tied to tradition. She is therefore curious to see whether British audiences might respond with a slightly more open-minded perspective to the film’s exploration of youth, desire and identity.

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At the 44th Bergamo Film Meeting, producer and president of the Kiarostami Foundation, Ahmad Kiarostami is presenting the Homage the festival is dedicating to his father, director Abbas Kiarostami.

On the tenth anniversary of his passing, the 44th BFM has built a retrospective of twelve films including  “10 on Ten” (2004), “24 Frames” (2017), “The Wind Will Carry Us” (1999), “Certified Copy” (2010) and “Ten” (2002).

Abbas Kiarostami (Tehran, 1940 – Paris, 2016) was one of the most important directors, screenwriters and visual artists of contemporary cinema, a central figure of Iran’s second “nouvelle vague” and a leading author of international auteur cinema.

He was also a poet, photographer and visual artist, with his work exhibited in major international museums such as the MoMA in New York, the Victoria and Albert Museum in London, the National Museum of Cinema in Turin and, posthumously, the Centre Pompidou in Paris.

To talk about his cinema and his legacy, on Wednesday 11 March, his son and producer Ahmad, is holding a seminar about his work.

Quoting the 44th Bergamo Film Meeting’s words: “Abbas Kiarostami will be remembered above all as a seminal figure in international cinema, a master at transforming simplicity into profundity and turning film into a space for poetic, ethical and universal meditation”.

Ahmad Kiarostami, who hasn’t lived in his country, Iran for almost 25 years, is not only preserving his father’s work and legacy with the foundation but he’s also working as a producer.

In 2014, Ahmad launched the Docunight project, screening Iranian documentaries in 25 cities across America and Canada. He also produced documentaries such as “Coup 53” by Taghi Amirani (2019), about the coup against Prime Minister Mohammad Mosaddegh.

In the last part of the interview, Ahmad Kiarostami talks about his country Iran, his hopes for the future. He also reflects on the role cinema has in raising awareness, open people’s eyes to try and avoid this polarization the world is getting divided into.

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At the 44th Bergamo Film Meeting, producer Marc van Warmerdam presents his brother’s complete film retrospective as director Alex van Warmerdam is the protagonist of the section Europe, Now!

It’s not the first time that Alex van Warmerdam’s is being celebrated at the Bergamo Film Meeting. The director was in Bergamo in 1993 with his film “The Northerners” which won the the Rosa Camuna d’Oro.

As part of the section that celebrates contemporary European Cinema, Marc van Warmerdam will be holding a seminar about his and his brother’s films, from the first , “Abel“, to the last one “Schneider vs. Bax“.

Marc van Warmerdam comments on what has been written about his brother’s cinema confirming every word: Van Warmerdam’s cinema is characterized by dark and grotesque humour, unpredictable situations that subvert expectations, unpleasant characters and off-kilter human relationships. It is a cinema that defies convention.

As a producer of contemporary European Cinema, Marc van Warmerdam gives his opinion on what might be the role today of our cinema. Is this the right moment for European Cinema to finally assume the task of raising awareness on today’s world issues?

Marc van Warmerdam reminds us that European cinema today faces a landscape of increasing co-productions and limited funding, making the producer’s role even more significant.

Producers facilitate cross-border collaborations, enabling filmmakers to pool resources and talent across countries. By doing so, they help sustain a diverse and innovative cinema culture that can stand out on the world stage.

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In 2014, the Bergamo Film Meeting dedicated to the French illustrator and animation film director Pierre-Luc Granjon an exhibition “Nel Regno di Pierre-Luc Granjon- In the Kingdom of Pierre-Luc Granjon” where drawings, sculptures, sketches, set designs and backstage photographs of his works were displayed. That same year, the Bergamo Film Meeting dedicated a complete retrospective to him, accompanied by a monographic catalogue.

At the 44th edition of the BFM, Pierre-Luc Granjon is back as a guest of the animation cinema section, to participate in the focus on the antique pin screen technique.

On Saturday 14th, under the title: “Petite escapade” –  the cinema of Pierre-Luc Granjon the director will held a seminar in English, dedicated to his cinema and open to the public.

As a filmmaker, Pierre-Luc Granjon is renowned for his mastery of traditional techniques like the pin screen, which he uses to create mesmerizing shadow and light effects.

He has expanded the potential of this antique method by deliberately focusing on volumes and contrasts rather than precise lines, which adds a distinctive, textured depth to his films.

The director comments what the Bergamo Film Meeting has written about his use of the pinscreen technique, in a totally unexpected way: he ignores the lines and focuses on the masses instead, on the contrasts and the impact of light.

Pierre-Luc Granjon unveils the genesis of his work as an illustrator and animation director as everything started for him when, after graduating at the School of Applied Arts in Lyon, he visited the Folimage studio in Valence. He started working there as a stop-motion model maker and decided to not only work as a model maker but also as a director creating stories.

Pierre-Luc Granjon’s work is celebrated for its subtle storytelling that appeals to both children and adults. His work often explores themes of symbiosis between humans and animals. The secret to Pierre-Luc Granjon’s creativity is his ability to access his childhood memories and stay connected to his inner child.

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