FRED Film Radio - English Channel

PODCAST: FRED’s Matt Micucci interviews with Florian Weghorn, director of programmer of Berlinale Talents.

To listen to the interview, click on the ► icon on the right, just above the picture of the film

The Berlinale Talents is the annual summit and networking platform of the Berlin International Film Festival for 300 outstanding creatives from the fields of film and drama series.

We join its programme manager Florian Weghorn to talk about this year’s edition, that is particularly defined by its theme titled “The Nature of Relations”. On top of introducing some of the highlights and new features of the 2016 Berlinale Talents, that will be welcoming 300 participants from different countries and different fields of the film and TV industry, Weghorn talks about its history, the way in which it has evolved over the years and reveals how the selection process for the talents works.

The Berlinale Talents offers a priceless opportunity for anyone wanting to flourish in the film and TV industry, and a further testimony of its importance is that this year, more than 100 talents alumni will be presenting films at the festival.

“Berlinale Talents is an initiative of the Berlin International Film Festival, a business division of the Kulturveranstaltungen des Bundes in Berlin GmbH, funded by the Federal Government Commissioner for Culture and the Media, in cooperation with Creative Europe MEDIA, a programme of the European Union, the Robert Bosch Stiftung and Medienboard Berlin-Brandenburg.

It was initiated in 2003. In addition to the extensive summit programme of master classes and panel discussions with top-notch experts, Berlinale Talents offers a range of Project Labs in which you can further develop and present your own project.

Berlinale Talents also provides Studio programmes and workshops for specific groups of film professionals. As an initiative of the Berlin International Film Festival, the entire event is closely linked with the programmes of the festival sections and the European Film Market.

While the roots of Berlinale Talents are firmly planted in Berlin new shoots of the initiative have been sprouting internationally. These Talents International editions, Talents Beirut in Lebanon, Talents Buenos Aires in Argentina, Talents Guadalajara in Mexico, Talents Durban in South Africa, Talents Sarajevo in Bosnia-Herzegovina and Talents Tokyo in Japan have the familiar structure and purpose of their German counterpart; all the while retaining a regional perspective and finding support and the necessary amenities in a locally based international film festival.

Talents initiatives are supported by local partners as well as by the Goethe-Institut.” (Description in italics taken from the official website of the Berlinale Talents.)

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PODCAST: FRED’s Chiara Nicoletti interviews Matthjis Wouter Knol director of the European Film Market (EFM) on its 2016 edition.

To listen to the interview, click on the ► icon on the right, just above the picture of the film

As its official website reminds us, “The meetings, the handshake, the new film year, European Film Market – it all starts here”. The European Film Market (EFM) kicks off the film industry year, and it is Matthjis Wouter Knol‘s responsability at his second year as its director to capture the new market trends to guide industry professionals coming to Berlin from all over the world.

As the new edition of the EFM is approaching (Feb 11-19), Wouter Knol elaborates on the successful initiatives that were introduced at the market last year, such as The Drama Series, the EFM Start Ups and the CoPro Series in the Berlinale Co-production Market.

The EFM Industry Debates will revolve around a number of interesting topics. Considering the large scale presence of representatives and industry professionals from Asia, one of them will focus on Korean cinema. Another will pay great attention to producers, who ae in charge of many delicate and challenging tasks in the film industry, and is entitled “Producers and Entrepeneurs”.

In collaboration with the Berlinale Talents, the annual summit and networking platform of the Berlin International Film Festival for outstanding creatives from the fields of film and drama series, and thanks to the Berlinale Talents Market Hub, 40 film projects have been selected to be presented and pitched to EFM projects.

“Harnessing the energy of Berlin and the passion for film, the European Film Market is the business epicentre of one of the most important international film festivals in the world, the Berlinale.

Every February the EFM opens the grand doors to the Martin-Gropius-Bau and welcomes over 8,400 producers, buyers, sales agents, distributors, exhibitors and financiers to the first major film market of the year. It’s the first date in the industry’s calendar and regarded as an early indicator for the new film year. Our trusted organization and commitment to quality content from around the world brings together the right people at the right place and time, inspiring the conversations and connections that are the cornerstone of the business.” (text taken from the official website of the European Film Market)

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PODCAST : Actor Michael Keaton and the Pulitzer Prize-winning investigative reporter Walter Robinson talk about the film Spotlight.

To listen to the interview, click on the ► icon on the right, just above the picture of the film

To mark the occasion of the Italian release of Spotlight by director Tom McCarthy, FRED’s Chiara Nicoletti is joined by actor Michael Keaton and the real life man whom he portrays in the film, the Pulitzer Prize winning Boston Globe editor, Walter Robinson.

The film is currently up for six Academy Awards, including one for Best Motion Picture of the Year, and Best Achievement in Directing for Tom McCarthy.

We talk with them about the importance of making films like Spotlight, that have the power to shake people up. We also ask Keaton about how he prepared for the role, and he tells us about the interesting process, as he had the chance to literally “study” Robinson, talking to him and absorbing his way of doing things: “it was a lot like having the answers to the test.”

SPOTLIGHT tells the riveting true story of the Pulitzer Prize-winning Boston Globe investigation that would rock the city and cause a crisis in one of the world’s oldest and most trusted institutions. When the newspaper’s tenacious “Spotlight” team of reporters delve into allegations of abuse in the Catholic Church, their year-long investigation uncovers a decades-long cover-up at the highest levels of Boston’s religious, legal, and government establishment, touching off a wave of revelations around the world.

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PODCAST: Alessandro Gropplero – head of When East Meets West co-production market

To listen to the interview, click on the ► icon on the right, just above the picture of the film

FRED’s Chiara Nicoletti is joined once again by Alessandro Gropplero, head of the Trieste Film Festival’s co-production market When East Meets West, to talk about its upcoming edition, which will run on January 24-26, 2016.

Last year’s edition was defined by its successful experimental focus on the United Kingdom, Ireland and North America. This year, When East Meets West to follow up on its 2015 success, and expands by welcoming new connections with Spain, Portugal and Latin America.

When East Meets West 2016 will bring together more than 300 producers, financiers, decision makers and film professionals from over 30 countries, and particularly from the Easter European, Italian and Latin territories.

First Cut Lab, the workshop designed for films in the editing stage, is one of the market’s first features. This year it has been renewed after the great and rewarding results of its first edition last year.

The market’s precise ethos of forming a natural bridge between the filmmaking communities of the East and the West is also its key to success. 22 projects have been selected for this year’s When East Meets West, which runs this year for the 6th time.

“WHEN EAST MEETS WEST is organized by the FVG Audiovisual Fund and the Trieste Film Festival, WEMW is organized by the FVG Audiovisual Fund and the Trieste Film Festival in collaboration with EAVE, Maia Workshops, EURIMAGES, and the support of Creative Europe/MEDIA Programme, Direzione Centrale per il Cinema – MIBACT and CEI – Central European Initiative.

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PODCAST : Géza Röhrig – actor – Son of Saul

To listen to the interview, click on the ► icon on the right, just above the picture of the film

Son of Saul (original title Saul Fia) by Laslo Nemes finally lands in Italy, ready to be distributed by Teodora Film from January 21st.

Géza Röhrig is the absolute protagonist of the film. We first met him at the Festival de Cannes, where the film had its premiere, and won the Grand Prix. Since then, Son of Saul has gone on to win countless awards all over the globe, and most recently received a Golden Globe for Best Foreign Language Film, making it a favourite for an Oscar at the upcoming Academy Awards.

FRED’s Chiara Nicoletti caught up with the actor once again, to reflect upon the film’s worldwide success, and to discuss what it is that makes this film so different from the many Holocaust films that have been made, such as Nemes’ idea of shooting everything literally through Saul’s face, let the audience work with imagination so that the power of suggestion is stronger than any explicit image.

Géza Röhrig too, with his performance, has received praise for his role and his presence that dominates the film’s action and perspective. Hard to believe that this is his feature debut. So, we ask him about his reaction to his taste of red carpets and spotlights, as well as what it for him to carry the weight of the message of Son of Saul on his shoulders.

SON OF SAUL (Saul fia): “Two days in the life of Saul Auslander, Hungarian prisoner working as a member of the Sonderkommando at one of the Auschwitz Crematoriums who, to bury the corpse of a boy he takes for his son, tries to carry out his impossible deed: salvage the body and find a rabbi to bury it. While the Sonderkommando is to be liquidated at any moment, Saul turns away of the living and their plans of rebellion to save the remains of a son he never took care of when he was still alive.” (official synopsis of the film taken from the )

WANT TO FIND OUT MORE ABOUT “SON OF SAUL”? – Click here to listen to our interview with Son of Saul director Laszlo Nemes, director of photography Matyas Erdely and co-screenwriter Clara Royer, from the 2015 Festival de Cannes (English channel)

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David Havas – manager – Kino Ponrepo

FRED’s Matt Micucci interviews David Havas, manager of Kino Ponrepo in Prague, the cinema of the Czech National Film Archive.

David talks to us about the various activities that Ponrepo organizes and is involved with, as well as some of its history. He discusses the way in which in 2015 it noticed a rise in the number of its audiences, as he explains, without having to change its philosophy of programming films that are not shown in any other cinemas, on top of screening original copies and prints of the classics by the great filmmakers of all time.

On top of that, reflecting upon this positive year, David tells FRED about some of the highlights of Ponrepo’s 2015 programme, to give our listeners an idea of this amazing venue that tends to the needs not only of cinephiles, but also encourages filmmakers as well as artists in general to get involved, network and further their artistic careers through a series of events that extend beyond cinema.

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Valentina Maffucci – co-founder – Crossmedia Factory

FRED’s Chiara Nicoletti meets Valentina Maffucci, co-founder with Sabrina Giacardi of Crossmedia factory which, in collaboration with the National Cinema Museum in Turin, brought the crossmedia project Sherlock Holmes and the Internet of Things to the TFF.

Valentina talks to us about this first experience with the project, the collaboration with the Museum that allowed them to place the first edition during the TFF at the MOLE Antonelliana and explains in detail what Crossmedia means.

“Sherlock Holmes and the Internet of Things is an experimental project spearheaded by Lance Weiler, the director of the Digital Storytelling Lab at Columbia University. It managed to connect over 60 countries around the world and 1000 collaborators. The project addresses the possible interaction between new narrative forms and the emerging universe of the so-called “internet of things” (interconnected “smart- objects).

As Crossmedia Factory, we decided to launch the Italian version of the event, which is technically called an “immersive storytelling game” and can be somewhat described as a cross between a role playing game, theatrical impro and the latest technology. And, as per the title, it draws its inspiration from the storyworld of Sherlock Holmes.”

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Julien Temple – director – The Ecstasy of Wilko Johnson

Angelo Acerbi meets with the great filmmaker Julien Temple, guest director at the 33rd Torino Film Festival.

We find out the reason why he chose the film in his programme , using the experience he lived on the set of THE ECSTASY OF WILKO JOHNSON, as an inspiration. He talks about his approach to documentary or fiction, the importance of music in his life (and in ours, too). He also reflects on what happened with ABSOLUTE BEGINNERS (that luckily is part of the history of cinema) and what he would have done differently.

THE ECSTASY OF WILKO JOHNSON: After being diagnosed with a terminal illness in 2013, Wilko Johnson, guitarist for Dr Feelgood and for the Blockheds, decides to embark on a farewell tour. Spurred by his irresistible energy, his love for music and life, with his inseparable Fender Stratocaster at his side to accompany him into his explosive performances.

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Nicolas Winding Refn – Mario Bava’s Terrore nello Spazio

Angelo Acerbi interviews Nicolas Winding Refn , about his particicpation to the restoration of the film PLANET OF THE VAMPIRES (Terrore nello Spazio).

His love for this film is deep and passionate, and very clear in his words; many narrative and aesthetical aspects of the film are key for many horror and science fiction films to come (Alien, for example).

Besides this specific issues, we find out what kind of films Refn watches, how he decides to tell a story, what attracts and intrigues him, and why he’s not interested in the quarrel between film print and digital. Pretty important and interesting stuff.

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Joao Nicolau – director – John From

Joao Nicolau, director of John From, choses to have two different tones in telling us the story of a teenage girl flirting with an older neighbour. Her increasing obsession with the man brings the film form a regular, even close-to-documentary style to a more surreal one, with a stretch to comical situations that could be only in the gilr’s mind. But you’ll never know…

JOHN FROM: Rita is fifteen and this explains a lot. The full-fledged adolescent spends the long, hot summer days with her best friend Sara, doing the usual things people that age do: hairdos to fix and undo, code names to make up for each other, and of course someone to fall head over heels in love with. But instead of the usual high school classmate, the object of her palpitations is a forty-year-old photographer who just inaugurated an exhibit about Melanesia: to Rita, the distance between Portugal and Papua New Guinea is as short as the one between reality and fiction.

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