FRED Film Radio - English Channel

PODCAST | Welcome to FRED Film Radio’s new weekly show, Big FRED Tuesday – your weekly round-up of all things related to cinema, featuring news from the world of film and interviews with various international guests.

In this episode:

– Film historian Pamela Hutchinson talks about an upcoming BFI Southbank retrospective on Danish silent film star Asta Nielsen (February 3-March 15, 2022);

– A celebration of the life and legacy of American filmmaker Frank Capra;

– An interview with Anders Emblem, director of A Human Position from the 2022 International Film Festival Rotterdam;

– This week’s #PopcornClassic: Badlands by Terence Malick from 1972.

The post Big FRED Tuesday – Weekly Show – 25th January 2022 appeared first on Fred Film Radio.

PODCAST | Matt Micucci interviews Bastian Meiresonne, one of the programmers of the Black Movie International Indipendent Film Festival.

A conversation with Bastian Meiresonne, one of the programmers of the Black Movie International Independent Film Festival in Geneva, Switzerland. This year’s hybrid edition of the festival will take place on Januar 21-30, during which 89 films will be shown, divided into nine thematic sections. Meiresonne tells us about what’s on offer and even tells us a bit about the history of the the Black Movie International Independent Film Festival and its mission statement.

During 10 days, the Black Movie Festival will show 89 films, including 50 feature films and 39 short films, divided into 9 thematic sections. An anthology of independent productions from 48 countries, including 70 Swiss premieres and no less than 17 first works among the feature films. While familiar figures return to the festival with new films (Apichatpong Weerasethakul, Hong Sangsoo, Royston Tan, Sergei Loznitsa, Anca Damian, Karim Aïnouz), we are pleased to note a significant number of films shot by women directors (21 features and 27 short films). It should be noted that this year, the programming of the festival was established jointly by Maria Watzlawick, artistic director, and a team composed of Djia Mambu (consultant for Africa), Bastian Meiresonne (consultant for Asia), Victor Teta (Black Movie for Kids programmer and Black Movie assistant), and Pascal Knoerr (thematic programmer).

The post Bastian Meiresonne – Black Movie Geneva International Independent Film Festival appeared first on Fred Film Radio.

PODCAST | Matt Micucci interviews Hong Sung-eun, director of the film Aloners.

A brief interview with Hong Sung-eun, director of Aloners, the award-winning South Korean drama presented at the 2021 Torino Film Festival. The film follows the story of a woman who lives alone but is forced to reflect upon her life after her neighbour is found dead. The director talks about the personal factors that inspired Aloners, as well as working with Gong Seung-yeon, who received an acting award at the Torino Film Festival.

Aloners: Jina is the top employee in a call center. However, at work as well as privately, she avoids other people. However, due to the death of her mother, she needs to meet her father to handle the inheritance. Moreover, some change is coming at work where Jina is supposed to train the new employee, Sujin. Additionally, Jina’s neighbour dies and a while later, the new tenant, the sociable Seonghun, moves in.

The post Hong Sung-eun – Aloners #TFF39 appeared first on Fred Film Radio.

PODCAST | Matt Micucci interviews Matias Rojas Valencia, director of the film A Place Called Dignity.

A conversation with Chilean filmmaker Matias Rojas Valencia, director of A Place Called Dignity, which was presented at the 2021 edition of Tallinn Black Nights. This narrative feature explores the horrors of Chile’s Colonia Dignidad. In this interview, the director talks to us about exploring such a difficult topic and the impact that filming in the Colonia Dignidad had on the cast and the production at large. He also talks about being part of a generation of filmmakers who can finally revisit the dark pages of Chile’s recent history.

A Place Called Dignity : Pablo, a 12-year-old boy, receives a scholarship to attend school in the mysterious and isolated Colonia Dignidad established in Chile by German settlers. It seems to be quite a privilege for a kid like him, and he quickly becomes the favourite of the leader of the colony, Uncle Paul. Over time, Pablo witnesses some kind of strange things which happen there and make him act differently than the other students.

The post Matias Rojas Valencia – A Place Called Dignity #PÖFF25 appeared first on Fred Film Radio.

PODCAST | Matt Micucci interviews Michael Pearce, director of the film Encounter.

A conversation with Michael Pearce, director of the Amazon Original thriller Encounter. The film talks about a man’s desperate attempt to rescue his children from a mysterious alien invasion. In this interview, Michael Pearce talks about the ambivalence of his lead character (played by Riz Ahmed), the way in which the narrative of Encounter reflects the tumultuousness of these times, his penchant for mixing realism with more fantastic aspects, including genre filmmaking, and more.

Encounter: A decorated Marine goes on a rescue mission to save his two young sons from a mysterious threat. As their journey takes them in increasingly dangerous directions, the boys will need to leave their childhoods behind. 

The post Michael Pearce – Encounter appeared first on Fred Film Radio.

PODCAST | Matt Micucci interviews Marija Zidar, director of the documentary Reconciliation.

A chat with Marija Zidar, director of the documentary feature Reconciliation about a blood feud between two sides of one family in the Albanian Highlands. The film was selected as part of this year’s edition of EFP’s EUROPE! Voices of Women in Film showcase at the Sydney Film Festival. In this interview, Zidar discusses her feature film debut, referring to her background in journalism. She also talks about connecting with the cultural context and traditions that she explores in Reconciliation, establishing a relationship with the protagonists of her documentary and more.

Reconciliation : An 18-year-old woman is killed by a bullet intended for her father. It is the tragic outcome of a bitter family feud. Her father’s cousin is found guilty by Albania’s judicial system and is serving a jail term for her murder. However, under the country’s ancient code of law (the Kanun), her father is entitled to take blood revenge. Religious and legal authorities, each with their own agenda, try to sway his decision. Marija Zidar’s epic documentary was filmed over five years in Albania’s mountainous north.

The post Marija Zidar – Reconciliation #SydFilmFest appeared first on Fred Film Radio.

PODCAST | Angelo Acerbi interviews Dénes Nagy, director of the film Natural Light.

Dénes Nagy put in Natural Light, presented in the Tflab section of the Torino Film Festival, the stories his grandpa told that he imagined , as a kid, as adventurous and magic. the reality of war was not at all magic, and he shows us in the film how cruel and illogical war is in the eyes of a man who did not know why he was there and to do what.

Natural Light : 1943. World War II, in the occupied territories of the Soviet Union. István Semetka is a Hungarian peasant who serves as a corporal in a special reconnaissance unit for partisan groups. On the way to a remote village, his company falls under enemy fire. When the commander is killed, István must overcome his fears and take command of the unit as he is drawn into a chaos over which he has no control.

The post Dénes Nagy – Natural Light #TFF39 appeared first on Fred Film Radio.

PODCAST | Matt Micucci interviews Aleksandra Terpinska, director of the film Other People.

An interview with Polish filmmaker Aleksandra Terpinska, director of Other People, presented at the 2021 Tallinn Black Nights Film Festival. In this interview, Terpinska discusses her feature film debut and the novel/epic poem by Dorota Masłowska that it is based on. She also talks about working extensively with music on what is essentially a hip-hop musical melodrama on contemporary malady and talks about some of the major themes that the movie discusses.

Other People : Wannabe underground rapper Kamil dreams to record his first hip-hop album, but even his social media addict girlfriend Anecia has no faith in his efforts. Superbly rich lady Iwona has everything that she possibly dreamed, but is too bored to continue luxury games on a trophy wife’s playground. Kamil still lives on his mother’s caring shoulders and meets desperate Iwona for steamy bang encounters without a single drop of love. Everyone needs a different perspective to evaluate life’s tracks, gifts, kicks, punches and traps.

The post Aleksandra Terpinska – Other People #PÖFF25 appeared first on Fred Film Radio.

PODCAST | Matt Micucci interviews Uģis Olte, director of the film Upurga.

A conversation with Latvian director Uģis Olte, who presented his fiction feature debut Upurga at the 2021 Tallinn Black Nights Film Festival. In this interview, Olte talks about working within the horror genre and the origins of his concept for this movie. He also discusses his background in documentary, his disregard for social realism in contemporary fiction film and more.

Upurga : Andrejs works as an adventure trip guide, but is afraid of adventures in real life. Unfortunately this is exactly what awaits him when his influencer sister disappears after having gone to shoot a vegan sausage commercial on a river full of rapids. Facing the primeval natural forces, the worst fears of Andrejs are awakened when he embarks on a pre-doomed journey that takes his body and soul to the utmost limits. Andrejs does not know that all the paths in this peculiar forest take you exactly to what you are looking for – but in order to find it, you first have to get lost…

The post Uģis Olte – Upurga #PÖFF25 appeared first on Fred Film Radio.

PODCAST | Angelo Acerbi interviews Arantza Santesteban Perez, director of the film 918 Nights.

Arantza Santesteban Perez tells us the process of creation of 918 Nights, revealing how she faced the recollection of a very hard part of her life, the years in prison, how this affected her political persona and why she chose to build a seemingly emotionless rendition of her life, which is effective and intense.

918 Nights : Through the testimonies of soldiers who participated in a colonial occupation of the Israeli army, Avi Mograbi investigates the functioning of this practice and the logic behind it. Working on materials relating to the Israeli occupation of the Palestinian territories of the West Bank and the Gaza Strip, which has been underway for 54 years now, the director draws a sort of “Military Occupation Manual”.

The post Arantza Santesteban Perez – 918 Nights #TFF39 appeared first on Fred Film Radio.