FRED Film Radio - English Channel

Wim Wenders and Peter Zumthor, the acclaimed filmmaker and architect respectively, are the subjects of the documentary From Inside Out: the architecture of Peter Zumthor, which was premiered at the Venice International Film Festival. This interview explores the long journey of creating this film, which chronicles Zumthor’s architectural process and artistic philosophy over a span of fourteen years.

The long-term process of making From Inside Out: the architecture of Peter Zumthor was a central theme. Wim Wenders explained how the film started as a brief commission for the architectural biennale in 2012 and grew into a fourteen-year endeavor. The project involved following the construction of two major buildings, in Los Angeles and Basel, from inception to completion. Wenders emphasized how external factors like pandemics, political issues, and financing hurdles extended the timeline, demonstrating how architecture and filmmaking can be deeply interconnected in the artistic process. The patience and persistence involved in documenting these works revealed the intricate relationship between architecture and time in the creation of a film about Zumthor.

This was another key focus. Zumthor described his approach as deeply rooted in the emotional and empathetic immersion into each project. He highlighted the importance of understanding the place and history behind a building, emphasizing that his work is an artistic process based on empathy rather than just intellectual analysis. He shared how his sensitivity to the site and his own biography influence his architectural choices, aiming to craft buildings that tell a meaningful story and carry a good history. The concept of a perfect building was discussed as one that feels right at the end, with details aligning perfectly, making the effort worthwhile despite the years of development.

Wenders reflected on the societal and personal changes that have influenced his filmmaking, noting how shared experiences, like growing up near the Rhine River, shape their artistic visions. Zumthor’s process remains committed to an artistic and emotional understanding of each project, illustrating how personal biography and cultural context inform their work. Both creators acknowledged that their ongoing engagement with their crafts continues to be driven by a shared desire to create meaningful art that resonates deeply with audiences and users alike.

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Agata The writer, by Kuba Dorabialski was presented in competition at Giornate degli Autori in Venice. We met with director , lead actress Mia Wasikowska and producer Alex White to talk about the creative process and the meaning of this film for them.

Kuba Dorabialski points out that the initial idea of looking at how a story is told,  in a very intimate way between audience and writer was kind of the starting point.  Cinema always speaks to a group of people, but he always was interested in intimacy, intimacy of a novel and how the writer can speak to one person. The other thing was kind of specific:  it’s about Bosnia and why about a writer dealing with the Bosnian War in the 90s,  largely because of what’s happening in the world now, because of the imperialist wars: how does an artist engage with political trauma.

Kuba’s video art practice was always  very narrative and story based which is a little bit different than classical video art; he always felt like he needed to make that jump out of the gallery into the cinema where you can kind of dictate the beginning and ending of your communication with an audience- “Agata the Writer” it’s kind of the final step of a process.  Rules for cinema are  slightly more strict than the freedom you have in video art. It’s kind of nice to have the edges defined for you, which means that then you can kind of explore a bit more within them rather than having a completely open-ended field It’s nice to have some boundaries around that.

Mia Wasikowska praises Kuba because like her character was really beautifully written from the beginning and it sort of made her job easier. She just had to turn up and embody her for a period of time. It’s funny because she never felt like she was trying to do anything really. The process of acting is kind of funny, and for her it’s not like particularly intellectual, so I just, I don’t know what I’m doing ever. I just like turn up and  hope that it works out.

This was something the director  always really loved and identified with, even more so from his mum’s experience because she was a Polish migrant coming to Australia when she was in her early teens. So, he feels like he really understood this sort of question of belonging.  This was something he could understand and, and empathise with and really like exploring because he feels it is very viscerally embedded in his own family and in himself.

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Ahmed Badawi, general manager of Egypt Film Commission, discusses the country’s emerging role in international film production and its participation in the first Venice Production Bridge Location Market. As part of the Egyptian Media Production City, the commission has been actively promoting Egypt as a versatile filming destination since its establishment in 2020. This interview highlights Egypt’s efforts to attract international projects and its strategic initiatives to support filmmakers worldwide.

The Egypt Film Commission is a relatively new entity, created to facilitate international productions in Egypt. It operates within the larger framework of the Egyptian Media Production City, a vast complex equipped with state-of-the-art sound stages, backlots representing different regions, and advanced post-production facilities. Since 2020, Badawi explains, the commission has supported over 160 projects, ranging from Hollywood blockbusters to Indian productions, demonstrating its ambition to become a global hub for filmmaking. Its presence at the Venice Production Bridge Location Market signals Egypt’s intent to forge new international partnerships and showcase its diverse locations and resources.

The Egypt Film Commission emphasizes its openness to a wide spectrum of projects, from small documentaries to large-scale productions. It offers various incentives, including a cash-back of up to 30% for services rendered within the Media Production City and a forthcoming cash rebate system starting at 20%. The commission also simplifies permit approvals and customs clearance, ensuring a smooth process for international filmmakers. Badawi notes that Egypt’s support extends beyond big studio productions, actively welcoming independent films and African projects, which are often overlooked by traditional film hubs. This inclusive approach aims to diversify Egypt’s film industry and attract a broader range of creative voices.

During the Venice Production Bridge, the Egypt Film Commission has held numerous meetings, with promising discussions underway for projects from India and the United States.

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During the first edition of the Venice Production Bridge Location Market, the Tokyo Film Commission‘s representative, Itto Kameshima, discusses the organization’s efforts to attract international productions to Tokyo, highlighting recent initiatives and upcoming opportunities. The interview sheds light on Tokyo’s evolving role as a key filming destination and the support structures available for foreign filmmakers. His insights are particularly relevant as Tokyo seeks to strengthen its presence in the global film industry.

Kameshima explains that the Tokyo Film Commission is actively engaging with global markets, including Venice, to promote the city as a prime filming location. While Tokyo has traditionally focused on local projects, recent efforts aim to attract international co-productions by offering tailored incentives and logistical support. The organization’s participation in the VPB Location Market marks a strategic move to connect with European filmmakers and expand Tokyo’s visibility abroad.

The commission offers financial support for international productions, including grants for filming and location scouting. For filming, the maximum support can reach up to 66,000 US dollars, while location scouting assistance provides up to 6,600 dollars per group. These funds, explains Kameshima, cover expenses such as travel, accommodation, and hiring local coordinators, making Tokyo more accessible for foreign crews. Importantly, the support is flexible and does not obligate filmmakers to shoot exclusively in Tokyo, encouraging diverse projects to consider the city.

While the Tokyo Film Commission primarily manages the city and its surrounding areas, it collaborates with other regional and national film commissions across Japan. This network facilitates broader access to diverse locations.

Responsible for locations within the Tokyo Film Commission is Kameshima’s colleague, Mariko Sugisaki, who explains that one of the most popular districts among foreign productions is the bustling Shinjuku. She emphasizes that the commission is also actively seeking European co-productions, with recent projects already supported and more in development, including an Italian-Japanese co-production expected to shoot in Tokyo soon.

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Dear Ajayi, presented in Giornate degli Autori at the Venice Film Festival, is a Nigerian family drama that explores the complex dynamics between two sisters in southwestern Nigeria during the 1990s. Director Damilola Orimogunje delves into themes of tradition, independence, and personal  growth, using his unique storytelling style to reflect societal tensions and family bonds.

Orimogunje explains that his film serves as a mirror to Nigerian society, illustrating the contrasting ways women respond to cultural expectations. He emphasizes that the characters of Ade and Titi symbolize different approaches, one rooted in duty and faith, the other in artistic expression and independence. The director depicts these women with nuance, avoiding stereotypes, and encouraging to observe rather than judge their choices. Dear Ajayi is an observational piece that invites understanding of the societal pressures shaping Ade and Titi characters.

A central motif in Dear Ajayi is the contrasting roles of faith and music in the sisters’ lives. Orimogunje highlights that the film explores how religion functions as a source of hope and stability, while music becomes a form of silent rebellion and emotional expression. He notes that the character Titi’s singing acts as a voice for her inner struggles, revealing her unspoken needs. The director reflects on how art, whether through music or other forms, can serve as a vital outlet for identity and escape, especially in restrictive environments.

Dear Ajayi discusses his deliberate choice to focus on domestic spaces, making the home a character in its own right. He explains that the visual language was designed to foster a sense of stillness and intimacy, to portray the inner world of the Ajayi family. Bimbo Akintola explains how her mother’s approach to deal with family’s needs and dynamics inspired her preparation for the role of Ade, while Tosin Adeyemi talks about her deep connection with music and singing.

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London,  presented in the Venice Critics Week programme, is directed by Victor De Marco and Marcio Picoli and Victor is also the lead star of the film. The film was awarded, ex-aequo, with the Queer Lion Award. We talked about the concept of the film and its production, which was long and bumpy.

Marcio Picoli says that it was  not complicated for them because they’ve been working together for like 10 years, so it’s like a long-term collaboration. They are very confident and have a strong relationship. They prepared thoroughly before the set, which made filming easier. They discussed every scene, every shot, to ensure being always on the same page. This continuity between them is crucial for the film’s authenticity and emotional depth. Our relationship has helped us craft a compelling performance and storytelling.

London lays on a very powerful narrative about independence and self-identity. The film explores the life of Victor, a disabled young man who is a sex worker in a fetish house, who faces a crucial decision about whether to accept a diagnosis that could confine him or reject it to preserve his freedom. This character’s construction and the plot development challenge viewers to rethink ideas around labels, identity, and societal perceptions. The film’s portrayal of Victor is groundbreaking because it shows his independence and vitality, which are often understated in cinema about disability.

The film also delves into the concept of desire and the body, which is particularly provocative through the lens of disability. The directors argue that desire is a fundamental human need, regardless of physical abilities. They aim to challenge stereotypes by presenting a character who is both desirable and brave, emphasizing that desire is natural and valid. London highlights that desire should not be stigmatized or marginalized based on physical condition. Instead, it should be embraced as a vital aspect of being human, which in turn can shift societal views and personal perceptions. This message resonates profoundly, especially in a social context where labels and societal bubbles often restrict authentic understanding of bodies and desires.

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Presented in the Settimana Internazionale della Critica at the 83rd Venice Film Festival, Zoom In, Zoom Out is Dong Jie’s feature debut. The screenplay developed over five years, undergoing substantial changes along the way. One of the most significant transformations concerned the role of media and gaming. In the first draft, these elements were scattered throughout the story. In the finished film, they became central narrative devices, helping to shape the world inhabited by the protagonist.

The international title, Zoom In, Zoom Out, reflects the way people communicate through smartphones and the internet. Digital technology allows us to move closer to others, but it can also create distance.

The original Chinese title can be translated as “The Journey of Discovery.” It refers to the cyber magazine connected to the protagonist’s search for a missing man. At the same time, it describes his emotional journey: while trying to discover what happened to his friend, he gradually begins to understand himself and the world around him.

The film follows Shi as he tries to find out what happened to Gao, a missing friend whose fate remains uncertain. Unable to communicate openly with Gao’s girlfriend, Shi attempts to tell her that Gao may have died through a video game.The virtual world becomes a space where he can express thoughts and emotions that he cannot articulate in real life. What begins as an investigation gradually develops into a deeper exploration of grief, guilt and identity.

For Dong Jie, the story was not taken directly from a single real-life event. Instead, it was built from numerous small observations of contemporary life. A death or another devastating event can now be communicated through a short text message or a few impersonal words on a screen. At the same time, social media platforms can place images of war, loss or tragedy alongside jokes, memes and entertainment. This abrupt movement between extreme emotions became one of the film’s central subjects. The digital world does not necessarily make people feel less; rather, it changes the way they encounter and process what happens around them.

Shi gradually begins to impersonate Gao, almost as if he were cosplaying his entire life. By assuming the missing man’s identity, he gains access to conversations and relationships that would otherwise remain closed to him. He is able to speak more freely with strangers, using Gao’s identity as a form of protection. Yet this performance also forces him to confront his own fears and feelings. The search for Gao therefore becomes a process of self-discovery. Shi is not only trying to understand the missing man’s story; he is also attempting to understand his own emotional isolation.

Although the film initially explores a cold, mediated digital environment, it gradually moves towards a moment of genuine tenderness between strangers. At the end of the story, Shi speaks on Gao’s behalf to the wife of a delivery worker. This encounter creates a connection that is no longer based solely on online communication or role-playing.

For Dong Jie, this moment represents Shi’s emotional transformation. Having spent much of the film immersed in another person’s world, he finally begins to step outside himself.

The title also describes the protagonist’s final movement. Shi spends the film zooming in on the life of a missing person, examining fragments of information in an attempt to reconstruct the truth. By the end, he is finally able to zoom out. He gains distance from the identity he has adopted and begins to look at his own life from a new perspective. The film’s conclusion therefore marks the possibility of a new beginning: not a complete escape from pain, but the first step towards reconnecting with reality and with other people.

Combining gaming, social media and intimate human drama, Zoom In, Zoom Out portrays a generation accustomed to experiencing reality through screens. The film questions whether virtual spaces only separate people—or whether they can also become unexpected paths towards empathy. Through Shi’s journey, Dong Jie suggests that even a mediated encounter can eventually lead to a genuine emotional connection.

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In competition for the Golden Lion at the Venice International Film Festival 2026, Dau follows a Greek-born physicist drawn into Soviet state service and the creation of one of history’s deadliest weapons, tracing, in director Ilya Khrzhanovsky‘s words, the small compromises that shape a life and alter the course of history. The film is the culmination of more than twenty years of work, uniting footage shot fifteen years ago with recent scenes into a single project. Khrzhanovsky talks about the long wait behind the film’s completion, his idea of cinema as experience rather than distraction, the criticism the film’s presence in Venice has drawn over its funding and origins, and what he believes the film says about Russia today.

On how it feels to premiere the final chapter of a project two decades in the making, Khrzhanovsky describes conflicting emotions: “I feel a mixed feeling of excitement, of course, and of course I’m worried. I am worried because I’m really worried how the connection between the movie and audience and the time, and time for me it’s a special thing”. That concern with time, he explains, is why he let years pass before returning to the footage: “I consciously took almost 15 years of making after the shoot because I want to look to the things what we filmed through the time”. Despite long stretches when the project’s completion was in doubt, he says he never lost faith in it: “During this journey there were a lot of moments where it was not clear if it could be completed or not, but I always knew that it will. And I knew that it will even if other people didn’t believe that it will ever finish. But I am very happy that universe, God, and reality gave me the chance”.

Asked how he reconciles a long, reflective film with an era of fast content consumption, Khrzhanovsky relativizes the comparison: “Everything is relative. And if we will think about operas, and some Italian operas, they’re much longer than my movie”. He describes the film as something meant to be lived rather than simply watched: “My movie is not just a movie; I believe it’s also an experience, that’s what I tried to do during the process of making. An experience sometimes takes time”. For him, art’s power lies not in changing the world but in shifting something at the scale of individual choices: “The movie or art in general cannot change anything, cannot change the world, cannot keep the world survive, but can touch something in a scale of personal life and personal choices where you can feel something about yourself. And you can keep some more power and more energy to make decisions what can be more bright and beautiful than other decisions what you can also take”. That hope, he adds, requires acknowledging darkness rather than denying it: “There is no day without night. And if you are with a long night you need to believe that the day will come, but you cannot also deny the fact that the night exists. And you need to understand that this night exists inside yourself and not somewhere else, and then you can fight with that and then you can do something with yourself”.

The film’s presence in Venice was criticized over its funding and origins, including a letter from Ukraine’s Ministry of Culture. Khrzhanovsky rejects the word “criticism” itself: “I don’t see it like criticism; I think it’s like a mistake”. He frames the objection as understandable given the context, without accepting it: “They have their own agenda, and it’s logical that they have this agenda. They are in a bloody, terrible war which was started in 2022, and this war is already longer than the war between the USSR and Germany. It’s absolutely a terrible war and a huge tension, and sometimes they just don’t have enough time to research who and what”. He states his own position on the war, and on his relationship with Russia, in personal terms: “It doesn’t change any of my position and love and respect and wishes to Ukraine to survive and to be strong during this war, and I hope to win in this form or other form. […] In Russia, I don’t have Russian citizenship anymore, and I’m probably the only film director who is on the list of foreign agents, a kind of list of enemies of the Russian state. That’s my reality”. He closes the point by thanking the festival for its response: “I’m very thankful, of course, to Alberto Barbera and to the festival and to Biennale for the response they took”.

Asked what his film says about Russia today, Khrzhanovsky traces a line back to the system’s founding decades, using language he chooses deliberately: “We’re talking about a kind of DNA of the Soviet totalitarian system, and this DNA was built in the 20s and 30s, and then 40s, in the time of Lenin and Stalin, and the way how they acted, how brutally they destroyed their own country and own citizens, because it was genocide against their own country”. That same self-destructive drive, in his view, persists today: “This inertia of self-destruction and destruction of other countries, and this inertia of imperial feeling in a kind of perverse way, is happening now. […] This kind of poison was spread around the world. Now we’re just seeing how this poison keeps reacting and poisoning neighbors without accepting the fact that they’re free”. He says he set out to place that dynamic within a wider picture: “Now we can focus on the story in Russia and Ukraine, but you can also look to the story of what’s going on on the 7th of October, what was with Iran, Israel, Palestinians, then we see what is boiling and could happen in Asia, we see what’s going on with right-wing movement in Europe and how dangerous it is. I tried just to talk about a more general thing and to give a feeling of danger of big apocalyptic destruction […] happening with us, with people, because all of us are as brothers and sisters and we should feel it as well”.

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Bibiana Rojas Gómez and Juan David Cárdenas discuss their film The End of Times, which premiered during 41st Critics Week at the Venice Film Festival 2026. The film explores complex themes through a blend of family footage, AI-generated scenes, and experimental audiovisual strategies. Their conversation sheds light on the innovative process behind this ambitious project, which challenges traditional notions of documentary and fiction.

The directors explain that their film navigates the delicate boundary between reality and imagination, emphasizing that the past is ultimately a construction shaped by the present. They aimed to create a visual and narrative approach that would keep viewers engaged without causing confusion. To achieve this, they spent over four years experimenting with different audiovisual techniques, balancing clarity with risk to evoke a double sensation—making the audience feel they are watching a documentary that is, in fact, a work of fiction. The process involved working with a vast amount of material, including 70 hours of family archives, which served as the foundation for constructing the characters and story.

The film’s portrayal of maternal sadness is rooted in a fictional narrative, although it draws heavily from archival footage. The filmmakers clarify that the characters representing the mother, Salome, and other family members are created constructs based on recurring themes observed in the archives. They see sadness as a symptom of contemporary society, reflecting broader cultural and political issues. The directors emphasize that their approach was to explore these themes through a poetic lens, using fiction to highlight the universality of emotional struggles rather than offering a literal or documentary account.

A significant aspect of The End of Times involves the integration of AI-generated content, especially when depicting historical atrocities like dictatorships and colonialism. The filmmakers describe how they used AI to generate images that often carry an ironic tone, such as scenes of social inequality portrayed through surreal or exaggerated visuals. They highlight that AI served as a tool to reflect on the precariousness of the world, creating a visual radiography of contemporary issues. This approach allowed them to distance themselves from a purely dramatic treatment, instead offering a hallucinated, poetic perspective that invites viewers to reconsider the weight of political history.

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During the Venice Film Festival 2026 we spoke with the director Gábor Reisz, actor Ádám Tompa, discussing their film Ground Floor, which was presented here in the Spotlight Section of the Festival. The film explores themes of societal apathy and personal transformation within a Hungarian residential building, with a broader metaphor and character development in order to reflect broader political and social issues.

During our interview on FRED Film Radio, director Gábor Reisz explains how Ground Floor element of the black mould is a central issue, but was not conceived as a metaphor from the start originating from a real-life conversation about representing Hungarian society instead. The mould became a powerful symbol of invasion and decay, embodying the invasive nature of societal issues, emphasizing also how the film’s development was rooted in a desire to portray the Hungarian residential environment and its residents authentically.

Actor Ádám Tompa describes his Ground Floor character Kristóf as someone who withdraws from active participation, a trait that he believes is common in Hungary’s society over the past decades. He notes that Kristóf’s personal journey mirrors Hungary’s political evolution, where many citizens have remained silent or passive amid changes. The actor suggests that apathy can be more dangerous than ideological conflict because it allows issues to fester unnoticed, a theme that the film explores as a form of societal initiation into citizenship and democratic responsibility. With the political shift during production prompting a shift in the film’s tone as well, and introducing a glimmer of optimism, both Reisz and Tompa believe that Ground Floor’s core messages about societal participation and civic awareness remain relevant universally, regardless of Hungary’s specific political situation.

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