FRED Film Radio - English Channel

PODCAST | Matt Micucci interviews Francis Lee, director of the film God’s Own Country, from the 16th Transilvania International Film Festival.

Director Francis Lee presented his film God’s Own Country in the competition of the 16th Transilvania International Film Festival. The film chronicles the blooming romance between two farm workers (one of whom is an immigrant from Romania) in the Yorkshire countryside. The film was inspired by Lee’s own backgrounds, which he talks about in his interview. His commitment to a realistic portrayal of life on the Yorkshire farm led to some interesting choices in the production of the film. As Lee says, “I love details and I love layering … and always pushing deeper for the truth and the emotion.”

God’s Own Country: Spring. Yorkshire. Young farmer Johnny Saxby numbs his daily frustrations with binge drinking and casual sex, until the arrival of a Romanian migrant worker for lambing season ignites an intense relationship that sets Johnny on a new path.

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PODCAST | Matt Micucci interviews Thierry Thieu Niang and Marie Balducchi, protagonist and producer of the film A Young Girl in Her Nineties, from the 16th Transilvania International Film Festival.

A Young Girl in Her Nineties (Une jeune fille de 90 ans), a documentary directed by Valeria Bruni Tedeschi and Yann Coridian was screened during the 16th Transilvania International Film Festival. Producer Maria Balducchi and the protagonist of the movie, dance choreographer Thierry Thieu Niang, represented the movie here in Romania, where we met them for this interview. The film originated from the latter’s workshop. Thierry works with all people, and in particular, A Young in Her Nineties follows his process of work with old people with Alzheimer’s. It is through them that we witness the power of dance and the surprising effects that dance has on them. Marie and Thierry tell us about the challenges of making the movie, which even involved convincing that this story was worth telling (the film successfully premiered on Arté shortly before this interview was recorded). We also discuss many other things, such as the aforementioned power of dance, whether there was any concern about crossing a line, and a few comments about the coming together of dance and cinema.

A Young Girl in Her Nineties: in the geriatric care section of the Charles Foix d’Ivry hospital, Thierry Thieû Niang, a famous choreographer, is running a dance workshop for Alzheimer’s patients. Through dance, memories are recounted: regrets, bitterness, moments of joy and solitude. Blanche Moreau is 92 years old. During the filming, she has fallen in love with the choreographer: her illness has simply become lovesickness.

The post Thierry Thieu Niang, Marie Balducchi – A Young Girl in Her Nineties #TIFF2017 appeared first on Fred Film Radio.

PODCAST | Matt Micucci interviews Yaniv Berman, director of Land of the Little People, from the 16th Transilvania International Film Festival.

Land of Little People marks the fiction directorial debut of Yaniv Berman, and was presented in the competition of the 17th Transilvania International Film Festival. The film doesn’t discuss the war in Israel as much as it looks at the militaristic society in Israel at large – especially, through its narrative, how this society affects children. The themes and story of Land of Little People allows Berman to elaborate on the film’s driving themes of military, war, Israel and the media. We also mention William Goulding’s 1954 novel Lord of the Flies. Finally, Berman ends the interview by listing a number of surprising ways in which reality and fiction got mixed together in the making of the movie.

Land of the Little People: four young kids who live in a village of military officers families form a small gang. An old abandoned army base turns into their camp. Another war begins in Israel, and most men are drafted to serve their country. The mothers are sitting worried in front of the TV sets, while the kids, with no one to supervise them, return to their camp in the wild. To their surprise, they discover two soldiers who deserted their units, using their camp as a hideout.

The post Yaniv Berman – Land of the Little People #TIFF2017 appeared first on Fred Film Radio.

PODCAST | Matt Micucci interviews Miguel Calderón, director of Zeus, from the 16th Transilvania International Film Festival.

Zeus marks the directorial feature debut of artist extraordinaire Miguel Calderón, and it was featured in the competition section of the 16th Transilvania International Film Festival in Romania. This is where we met the director. In this interview, he reveals that the film is a result of personal influences and, especially, his interest in psychology. In this sense, it is a continuation of the themes from his previous artistic works; as he says: “the study of psychological patterns is what matters to me the most, and then my output is making art.” Before making Zeus, Calderón shot several short films and music videos, so we take the time to ask him what he thought were the differences between the two.

Zeus: Joel masks a sick relationship with his mother by practicing falconry. He meets a down to earth secretary, which leads to the loss of his hawk and as a consequence he has to face reality.

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PODCAST | Matt Micucci interviews Mehdi Fard Ghaderi, director of Immortality, from the 16th Transilvania International Film Festival.

Impressions of a life. The sequence movie Immortality, made in one lengthy shot, was presented in the No Limits section of the 2017 Transilvania International Film Festival. We spoke with the director of the film, Mehdi Fard Ghaderi. He talks about the challenge of filming Immortality in this way, already a problematic task made all the more difficult by its restricted space – a train. The decision of setting the movie on the train, as we discussed in this interview, also has its own meaning within the context of the story of the film: while the train travels in one direction on its tracks, the multiple plot and characters suggest variations, while other elements (such as the non-chronological order of its structure) openly play with the form.

IMMORTALITY. Immortality is Fard-Qaderi’s first feature film that depicts events happening on a train during a rainy night. It tells the story of six different families on different wagons of the train, gradually unfolding their stories. “When I try to imagine you, I feel kind of immortality; when I call you, I feel kind of immortality; when I look at you, I feel kind of immortality; when I touch you, I feel kind of immortality; when I smell you, again I feel kind of immortality,” the film’s synopsis reads.

The post Mehdi Fard Ghaderi – Immortality #TIFF2017 appeared first on Fred Film Radio.

PODCAST | Matt Micucci interviews Kristina Grozeva and Petar Valchanov, directors of Glory from the 16th Transilvania International Film Festival.

With Glory, their latest work, directors Petar Valchanov and Kristina Grozeva solidify their reputation as one of the most interesting directorial duos in the world. After their critically acclaimed previous work The Lesson, in fact, comes this new movie, which Valchanov and Grozeva define in this interview as the second in a trilogy of events inspired by real life and newspaper stories.

In this interview, recorded at the 16th Transilvania International Film Festival where the film competed for the top prize in its official competition, we talk about the political aspects of the movie, the contrast from which generates all noteworthy art, their choice of working with many of the actors who had appeared in their previous film, and their flexibility as director; they agree that a movie has a life of its own and are open to changes that may alter the original version for the better.

GLORY: When Tsanko Petrov, a railroad worker, finds millions of lev on the train tracks, he decides to turn the entire amount over to the police. The state rewards him with a new wristwatch… which soon stops working. Meanwhile, Julia Staikova, the head of PR for the Ministry of Transport, loses his old watch. Here starts Petrov’s desperate struggle to get back not only his old watch, but his dignity.

The post Kristina Grozeva, Petar Valchanov – Glory #TIFF2017 appeared first on Fred Film Radio.

PODCAST | Cristiana Palmieri interviews Nashen Moodley, director of the Sydney Film Festival.

Every year the Sydney film festival creates a time and a space to reflect on what is important, good and bad and scary and hopeful and, well, everything, to everyone, everywhere…hear from the festival director’s own words what the festival has in store for you this year.

For the official website of the film festival, click here.

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PODCAST | Bénédicte Prot interviews Rungano Nyoni, director of the film I Am Not a Witch.

The Zambia-born, Wales-raised debut director tells us more about her subject and how she decided to mix research and fiction to approach it like a fairytale. She explains why the choice of proposing an absurd take on a appalling reality came naturally, elaborates on her young hero’s silence, and reveals the idea behind her interestingly diverse musical choices.

I Am Not a Witch:  in her debut feature, developed with the Cannes Cinéfondation, Rungano Nyoni confirms the talent that got her noticed for her short films. I Am Not a Witch tells the tale of a tragic destiny, that of a little African girl accused of being a witch, placed in a witch camp, and ‘chained’ to a symbolic ribbon leash, using powerful visual poetics, surprising music, and a humour which conveys the absurdity of such archaic practices whilst touching the viewer deeply, without ever going for the easy tear.

The post Rungano Nyoni – I Am Not a Witch #Cannes2017 appeared first on Fred Film Radio.

PODCAST | Chiara Nicoletti interviews Elizabeth Moss and Claes Bang, actors of the film The Square.

This is a clip from the press conference of the Golden Palm winner of the 70th edition of Festival de Cannes: The Square by Ruben OStlund. Actors Elizabeth Moss and Claes Bang reveal how they made it through a particularly intense sex scene in the film and how they were directed by Ostlund.

The Square: Christian is the respected curator of a contemporary art museum, a divorced but devoted father of two who drives an electric car and supports good causes. His next show is “The Square”, an installation which invites passersby to altruism, reminding them of their role as responsible fellow human beings. But sometimes, it is difficult to live up to your own ideals: Christian’s foolish response to the theft of his phone drags him into shameful situations. Meanwhile, the museum’s PR agency has created an unexpected campaign for ”The Square”. The response is overblown and sends Christian, as well as the museum, into an existential crisis.

The post Elizabeth Moss, Claes Bang – The Square #Cannes2017 appeared first on Fred Film Radio.

PODCAST | Chiara Nicoletti interviews Ruben Ostlund, director of the film The Square.

A clip from the Cannes press conference of the Golden Palm Winner of the 70th edition: the Square. Director Ruben Ostlund describes how he visually built the film and its protagonist.

The Square: Christian is the respected curator of a contemporary art museum, a divorced but devoted father of two who drives an electric car and supports good causes. His next show is “The Square”, an installation which invites passersby to altruism, reminding them of their role as responsible fellow human beings. But sometimes, it is difficult to live up to your own ideals: Christian’s foolish response to the theft of his phone drags him into shameful situations. Meanwhile, the museum’s PR agency has created an unexpected campaign for ”The Square”. The response is overblown and sends Christian, as well as the museum, into an existential crisis.

The post Ruben Ostlund – The Square #Cannes2017 appeared first on Fred Film Radio.