Beatrice Karlsson is the Program Director of the Stockholm International Film Festival. Beatrice and her team are the architects of the schedule and are responsible for sorting through the over 3000 titles submitted for consideration this year.  

Last week they finalized and presented the impressive lineup of over 130 films from 60 countries for this year's festival where Isabella Rossellini will be the guest of honor

In the midst of this frenzy of activity Beatrice was kind enough to join us to talk about what goes into organizing a festival, what criteria they apply when curating the final list of films and what we can expect in the coming weeks.

We catch her three weeks ahead of the start of festivities and just 48 hours after announcing this year's lineup.

For more information: Stockholm Film Festival

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Norwegian-based Swedish director Fanny Ovesen joins us to talk about her debut* feature Live A Little / Leva Lite. The film is a thoughtfully written coming of age story about friends Laura and Alex who are taking a long planned girls’ trip. Along the way there is a night of partying and blackout sex. The story follows them as they couch surf across Europe and try to unravel what happened. Was it simply a drunken fling, or something darker?

In this episode we take the opportunity to walk through Live A Little in detail with Fanny. We also take a few minutes to get into her wonderful short film She-Pack (link below).

Fanny is just one more example of the amazing young filmmaking talent emerging in Scandinavia. It was a pleasure to meet her and have the chance to explore her work.

Live A Little was just released in North America. Look for it wherever you find quality films.

Live a Little Trailer

She-Pack

* That is if we discount her childhood work with her brother ;-)  

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Hampus Linder, known for his documentary film "Gudrun Konsten Att Vara Människa" (The Feminist) joins us to talk about his latest work "Confessions of a Swedish Man" which takes viewers on a journey through parts of the manosphere that you normally only see when you are doom scrolling. The film provides a very interesting counterpoint to “Gudrun” both in subject as well as style.  

“Confessions of a Swedish Man” takes a surprising twist when Hampus must agree to participate in the ceremonies of the European Men’s Gathering. As a result the camera is now taken out of his hands and ultimately turned on him adding a surprisingly personal layer to the story. The twist also gives viewers a glimpse into the challenges of documentary filmmaking as Hampus and his subject Paul maintain a tenuous relationship.

It was a pleasure to meet Hampus and discuss “Confessions of a Swedish Man”

You can find a trailer and more about the film here: https://confessionsofaswedishman.com/

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After nine in-depth conversations with filmmakers from around the world, we’re closing the curtain on the 59th Karlovy Vary International Film Festival. This wrap-up episode connects the threads that ran through this year’s Crystal Globe competition from Lisbon to Kabul, from the Carpathians to New York.

Across fiction, documentary, and hybrid storytelling, certain themes emerged again and again:

• Social issues through intimate stories: from Pere Vilà’s reflections on gender violence to Dmytro Hreshko’s war-scarred forests.
• Trauma, healing, and resilience: how directors like Ondřej Provazník and Nina Knag explored aftermath rather than spectacle.
• Casting as care: the responsibility of protecting actors and building trust, whether with seasoned performers or non-professionals.
• The rhythm of slow cinema: patience, presence, and honesty in storytelling, celebrated in Vytautas Katkus’ The Visitor.
• Restraint and ambiguity: letting silence, absence, or even darkness tell the story.

We also reflect on the miracle (and struggle) of filmmaking itself, from funding battles to filming under Taliban rule, from children on set to directors juggling multiple roles.

🎬 Highlights:

• Nina Knag’s lead actress Pia Tjelta awarded Best Actress for Don’t Call Me Mama.
• Vytautas Katkus named Best Director for The Visitor.
• Nathan Amborsioni honored with a Best Director for Out of Love.
• Miro Remo’s Better Go Mad in the Wild winning the Grand Prix — Crystal Globe for Best Film.

This episode isn’t just about cinema as art. It’s about cinema as dialogue, care, and courage.

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Catalan filmmaker Pere Vilà Barceló joins us as we continue our coverage of the Crystal Globe Competition at the 59th Karlovy Vary International Film Festival.  We talk about his latest film “When The River Becomes A Sea” starring Claud Hernández.

The curators at Karlovy Vary describe it as “ An uncompromising, introspective probe into the soul of a girl who is sexually abused. The heroine of his sixth film is Gaia, a young archaeology student, whose relationship with herself, and with those around her, is forever marked by a traumatic event. Initially, Gaia cannot find the words to describe her situation, let alone the courage to speak about it. Eventually, however – like an archaeological excavation – she begins to uncover fragments of the past in order to piece her life together. The Catalan filmmaker was able to provide a realistic depiction of her situation by choosing to emphasize the actual process of coping with the trauma, a process which can't be rushed.”  

Pere is willing to take some interesting risks as a director including a six plus minute scene shot entirely in darkness.  The result is stunning.

Pere is walking a fine line using cinema to illicit a discussion on sexual assault.  He navigates the challenge with grace and delivers a beautiful and thoughtful film.

You can check out the trailer here: When A River Becomes The Sea

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Magic is the word I keep coming back to when I try to describe “Better Go Mad In The Wild”, the latest film from director Miro Remo. Apparently I am not the only one who feels this way.  He was just awarded the Crystal Globe for Best Film at the 59th Karlovy Vary International Film Festival where the jury called it, “a funny valentine to the fading art of being true to yourself".

Miro joins us to talk about the genesis of his film and a little about what it was like to develop a relationship and work with his primary characters,

real-life twins Franta and Ondřej. It is a pure examination of their lives and struggles including original art, poetry and blues music. And if that’s not enough, there’s a talking bull. 

Miro uses a mix of filmmaking techniques that result in a truly unique story that will make you fall in love with the brothers. 

He didn’t want to do it, but I’m so glad he joined us.

Trailer: Better Go Mad In The Wild

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Welcome to a warm chat with a serious filmmaker. 

Wunderkind, screenwriter, director Nathan Ambrosioni joins us to talk about his latest film Out of Love (Les enfants vont bien) which recently earned him a Crystal Globe award for Best Director at the Karlovy Vary International Film Festival.

Nathan is one of cinema's most promising young voices. In addition to exploring Out of Love we will touch on his remarkable journey in filmmaking. At just 25 years old, Ambrosioni has already established himself as a director with a distinctive eye for complex family dynamics and emotionally nuanced storytelling.

Nathan's latest feature is a gripping French family drama starring Camille Cottin, Juliette Armanet, and Monia Chokri. The film follows Jeanne, whose life is suddenly turned upside down when her sister Suzanne arrives unexpectedly with her two children only to disappear again, leaving Jeanne to care for kids she barely knows.

This was a fun.

Out of Love (Les enfants vont bien) will be in French theaters December 3rd.

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Filmmaker Gözde Kural joins us to discuss her latest work "Cinema Jazireh".  It is her second feature set and shot in Afghanistan. It depicts the journey and struggles of a young mother attempting to track down her missing son. Moving solo as a woman in a world controlled by the Taliban is not an option so she dresses as a man. At the same time we are introduced to a young man who was groomed as a boy to act as a woman. The contrasting and intersecting stories raise hard questions about culture. The film explores longing, hope and the roles we are forced to take on as a result of social pressure. We will examine the amazingly well formed characters depicted and get into the themes of her work as well as touch on some of the challenges of filming in Afghanistan.

In our chat, Gözde reveals the same passion that comes through in her films and we learn some interesting news about a case currently making its way through the Turkish justice system where a colleague of hers is facing politically motivated charges. She arrived for our interview after having spent the day in court supporting her friend, and we appreciate that she was able to switch gears and talk about her film and plans for the Karlovy Vary International Film Festival.

Here's a link to the trailer for: "Cinema Jazireh"

If you are enjoying the podcast, please leave us a rating or review, or better yet share the link with your friends.

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Director João Rosas joins us to talk about his work with a focus on his feature debut “The Luminous Life”. It's a beautiful exploration of youth that evolved in a very particular way from three of his earlier shorts. We’ll dive into those connections, examine the role of Lisbon in his movies and explore the current climate for filmmaking in Portugal.

We will also take a few moments to discuss his documentary “Death Of A City”. It is a very personal film that chronicles the demolition of a building and the men doing the work. It is a layered analysis of the exploitation of individuals and a city.

Perhaps most interestingly, we will get into the particular role that film festivals play as gatekeepers at the same time as we discuss João’s work as a festival jury member and the challenges that come with that responsibility.

During our chat João mentioned the American reviews of “The Luminous Life” you can find them here:  Variety  Hollywood Reporter

If you enjoy Stream Close Up…like, share, rate, jada jada jada….

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Winner of the Crystal Globe for Best Director at the 59th Karlovy Vary International Film Festival, Lithuanian filmmaker Vytautas Katkus joins us to talk about his feature debut “The Visitor” (Svečias).

Here’s what the Jury had to say about his film. 

“In his feature debut, Vytautas Katkus truly exploits the creative freedom that a director perhaps only ever properly enjoys with their first film, displaying an uncompromised, idiosyncratic vision that is both dazzlingly precise in its detail and dreamily peculiar as whole.”

“The Visitor” evolved from his earlier short films ”Community Gardens” and “Cherries” which touched on some similar themes. We will talk about that evolution and his experience on the film festival circuit among other topics.

"The Visitor" follows Danielius, a 30-year-old new father who returns from Norway to Lithuania to sell his father's apartment, exploring themes of homecoming, displacement, and the complex emotions that arise when familiar places feel foreign. This Lithuanian production serves as a cinematic meditation on solitude, marking a significant milestone in Katkus's career transition from cinematographer to director.

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