Five years ago Julia Decournau won the Palme d’Or at the Cannes Film Festival for her film “Titane”.  We caught up with her on her recent visit to the Stockholm International Film Festival where she presented her latest work “Alpha”. It’s a multi-layered story of love and fear where a mother must navigate the possible exposure of her daughter to a virus that once killed her brother.  As Julia will tell us, a synopsis can’t describe this or most other films. 

Julia shares insight into some of her filmmaking choices, including the use of Nick Cave’s song “The Mercy Seat” to set the tone for  pivotal scene.

Alpha: Trailer

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Coming to you from the Stockholm International Film Festival.

In this episode Brian is joined by legendary documentary filmmaker Ross McElwee. Known for his deeply personal and quietly funny explorations of family, memory, and the passage of time, Ross has shaped the language of first person documentary for more than four decades. His films include classics like "Sherman’s March", "Time Indefinite", "Bright Leaves" and "Six O Clock News". Each one blends intimate storytelling with cultural reflection in a way that has inspired generations of nonfiction filmmakers.

They discuss his latest work “Remake” which was just awarded the Bronze Horse as best documentary at this year's Stockholm Film Festival. It starts out as a journey to document a Hollywood producer’s attempt to remake “Sherman’s March” as a drama but quickly turns to the passing of his son Adrian who dies of drug overdose involving fentanyl.  Adrian was a filmmaker in his own right and was documenting his lifestyle.  That material in combination with a lifetime of shooting his family, provides Ross with rich source material for his loving tribute.

Congratulations to Ross on a well deserved award.

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Award winning filmmaker and journalist Auberi Edler joins us as we dive into our coverage of the Stockholm Film Festival.

We discuss Auberi's latest film "An American Pastoral" which covers a school board election in Elizabethtown Pennsylvania. What unfolds will surprise and possibly scare you.

It’s an even handed portrayal of a battle that pits right wing MAGA republicans, including a married couple that proudly helped organize and storm the capitol on January 6th, against a coalition of center republicans and democrats in a race that focuses on book bans and a traditional Christian vs secular approach to managing public education.

Everybody involved is honest and passionate which sets up some very dramatic confrontations. 

Auberi is able to win trust and take us into the lives of the candidates and broader community and what she reveals helps explain the growing divide splitting Americans.

The result is sometimes disturbing.

Join us as we meet Auberi Edler.

Trailer: An American Pastoral

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Writer and director Mattias J Skoglund has been traveling the world presenting his latest project the horror film "Hemmet" (The Home) and joins us today to celebrate the Swedish theatrical release.

Based on Mats Strandberg's novel, "Hemmet" tells the story of a young man who returns to his childhood home in order to move his mother into an assisted living facility. Once there, her condition takes a turn for the worse and drama unfolds. Is it a question of deepening dementia or is something more sinister afoot?

With tremendous performance by Anki Lidén and Philip Oros among other notables, "Hemmet" will keep you on the edge of your seat throughout.

Mattias will tell us about his experience writing with Mats, how he went about casting a mix of seasoned pros and unknowns and the eight year journey to bring "Hemmet" to the screen.

You can get a look at "Hemmet" here: Trailer

Sorry about the audio, I think the spirit of Bengt might have been lurking when we recorded.

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We are digging into our coverage of the 36th Annual Stockholm Film Festival.

Ella Rae Rappaport joins us to talk about "Egghead Republic" which will have its European debut on November 8th as part of the festival. "Egghead Republic" is a surreal peek behind the curtain at the machinations of a modern media empire and the madness of power. But as you will learn, this doesn't even begin to describe this wonderful film.

Ella Rae is nominated for the Rising Star Award at this year's festival for her performance as Sonja, a Swedish club kid with big dreams who joins a road trip through a post-apocalyptic landscape that may or may not include mutant centaurs.

It was a pleasure to meet Ella Rae, but I have to say I did feel a little old when she didn't get any of my cultural references ;-)

You can get a little taste of Egghead Republic here: Trailer

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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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