FRED Film Radio - English Channel

Argentinian director Ivàn Fund presents at the 75 Berlin International Film Festival his 8th feature film, El Mensaje - The Message. The film tells the story of a young girl (newcomer Anika Boots) with the gift of communicating with animals, in particular domestic pets such as dogs.  Her family force her to live traveling on the road and make this “communicating to pets” a business. Ivàn Fund choo...

Denis Côté comes back to Berlinale , this time with a documentary film about a man, "Paul", who decides after many years of depression, of  hiding himself and not being in the outside world, to try a new version of interaction: becoming a simp, a kind of slave for young women whom he does free cleaning  for. This is the beginning of a new life and a good motivation ofr the director to observe the...

"Drømmer (Dreams)" is the third part of the trilogy written  and  directed by Dag Johan Haugerud, showing at Berlinale in the official Competition. This delicate, intelligent and realistic movie closes the trilogy of "Love" and "Sex"; it is the story of the coming of age of a young woman Johanne whose first love for her teacher is upsetting her world. We had a talk with the director and the actres...

With his second feature film, "What Marielle Knows", German director Frédéric Hambalek is in competition at the 75th Berlinale.  Starring Julia Jentsch and Felix Kramer, the film develops the possible answer to a question: "What would parents do if they were monitored by their kids?” while coming up with the idea of a girl suddenly listening to all her parents thoughts.  It all came to Hambalek wh...

At the 75th Berlinale, director Emilie Blichfeldt presents her daring debut feature, "The Ugly Stepsister", in the Panorama section. This twisted body horror adaptation of "Cinderella" shifts the focus to the infamous stepsister, exploring the Grimm fairy tale on a different side. The Inspiration Behind The Ugly Stepsister Blichfeldt shares that her personal struggles with body image and beauty st...

Rebecca Lenkiewicz presents her directorial debut, "Hot Milk", in competition at the 75th Berlinale. The film is an adaptation of the 2016 novel by Deborah Levy and it stars Fiona Shaw and Emma Mackey as mother and daughter in a difficult co-dependent relationship. When asked to write the script for this screen adaptation, Lenkiewicz thought this was the right project to finally make the big step...

Directorial debut by Rebecca Lenkiewicz, "Hot Milk", is in competition at the 75th Berlinale.  Distributed by Mubi worldwide, the film is an adaptation of the 2016 novel by Deborah Levy.  It follows Rose (Fiona Shaw) and her daughter Sofia (Emma Mackey) as they travel to Spain to find a cure for Rose’s mysterious illness.  The co-dependent relationship between the two is destined to be shaken up a...

German director Tom Tykwer has opened the 75th Berlin International film festival with his new film The Light Screening in Berlinale Special, the film marks the director’s comeback to stories sent in our present time.  Indeed, Tykwer spent the last decade working on Babylon Berlin so he was now ready for a story of a modern day dysfunctional family.  Composed by father (Lars Eidinger), mother (Nic...

Tatiana Fuentes Sadowski's documentary "The Memory of Butterflies", was inspired by a photograph of two Indigenous men, Omarino and Aredomi, who were taken to London around the early 20th century to be "civilized." This image prompted her to explore their story and the broader impact of the colonial rubber trade in Latin America. In her research, Sadowski faced challenges in uncovering this comple...

At the 75th Berlinale, we sat down with directors Leon Vidmar and Jean-Claude Rozec, two of the creative minds behind "Tales from the Magic Garden". Presented in the Generation section, this European stop-motion film combines multiple storytelling voices to craft a seamless narrative. The Origin of Tales from the Magic Garden The film originated from Czech producer Martin Vandas and director David...

At the 75th Berlinale Film Festival, Mexican film director and screenwriter Fernando Eimbcke presented his new film, "Olmo", featured in the Panorama section. This deeply personal coming-of-age story explores the delicate balance between youthful independence and familial responsibility. Olmo, a teenager, is torn between taking care of his father and attending a party, a journey that ultimately br...

"Fwends" by director Sophie Somerville's explores the transitional phase from adolescence to adulthood through the reunion of two friends. Set against the backdrop of Melbourne in spring, the film captures the city's influence on the narrative and aesthetic. Somerville balances existential themes with humour, reflecting on the challenges of being in one's 20s. The incorporation of special effects...

In "Home Sweet Home", director Frelle Petersen continues his exploration of Southern Jutland's ordinary lives, focusing on Sofie, a divorced mother who becomes a home care aide in rural Denmark. Frelle Petersen's personal experience working in home healthcare deeply influenced the film's narrative and character development, providing authentic insights into the emotional challenges faced by caregi...

Slovenian director Urška Djukić premieres her debut feature film, "Little Trouble Girls "in the Perspectives section at the Berlinale 2025 The film was developed at the 39th edition of the Cannes Cinéfondation Residency, in 2019 and later was awarded as the best work-in-progress project at the Les Arcs Film Festival in December 2023. "Little Trouble Girls" follows 16-year-old Lucia who’s part of h...

In "When Lightning Flashes Over the Sea", director Eva Neymann captures the resilience of Odesa's residents amidst war, highlighting the enduring dreams and strength of Odesa's people. Neymann's personal experiences during the war deeply influenced the documentary's perspective, adding an incredible layer of authenticity to the narration . The title of the film is a tribute to the hope that dreams...

The Berlinale Talents 2025, running from February 15 to 20, 2025  has started its programme under the big family of Berlinale Prò* . Its theme is running under the title "Listen Courageously – Cinematic Narratives in Times of Dissonance" and every activity and initiative is developing this “mantra”.  With 200 selected Talents, exceptional emerging filmmakers from all over the world coming to Berli...

From February 27th, 2025, the Helen Fielding books’eroine Bridget Jones will come back to cinemas with Universal Pictures for a final chapter: Bridget Jones - Mad about the boy. Two-time Academy Award® winner Renée Zellweger returns to the role that established a romantic-comedy heroine for the ages, a woman whose inimitable approach to life and love redefined an entire film genre.    Renée Zellwe...

As the first major film market of the year, the EFM is the market that kicks off the audio-visual business year.  Starting this year 2025, the EFM is part of Berlinale Pro* and serves as a compass, barometer and pacesetter for the new film year: new productions and developments, future-proof business models, contacts and contracts.  Berlinale Pro* integrates the European Film Market (EFM), the Co-...

"Wishing on a star" by Peter Kerekes is the special Event at the 36th Trieste Film Festival 2025.  The film premiered at the Venice Film festival in 2024, in the Orizzonti section and at its early stage, was one of the projects presented at FIRST CUT+ at the industry section in Trieste, WEMW - When East meets West, the 2024 edition.  The film was partly shot in the FVG region so, landing in Triest...

After World premiering at the Toronto Film Festival and competing at the Thessaloniki International Film Festival, “Meat” by Dimitris Nakos lands out of Competition at the 36th Trieste Film Festival. Produced by Thanos Anastopoulos, the film also participated at the CinéMed in Montpellier. “Meat“ ( Kreas) is set in a Greek mountain village where Takis (Akilas Karazisis) is preparing for the openin...

Sonja Prosenc is in competition at the 36th Trieste Film Festival with her third feature film, "Family Therapy".  After premiering in Tribeca and participating at the Sarajevo Film Festival, the film is Slovenia’s Oscar nominee for Best International Film and will be distributed in Italian cinema by Emera Film.  The film is inspired by a childhood memory, Prosenc recalls in her director’s note: “W...

During Focus London 2024, we sat down with Raffaella Delvecchio of the Apulia Film Commission to hear about more about how they foster and promote their work in the region. Explaining their position as the “heel of the boot” on the map of Italy, they work to be on the radar of film productions, acknowledging they have many competitors, such as Greece, Malta and Albania, due to their location. As s...

During Focus London 2024, Fred Film Radio heard from Nicola Fedrigoni, CEO of Kplus Film and on the board of APE, the Association of Executive Producers in Italy. He shared his reflections on the event for this year, noting the turn out seemed to have doubled from last year, and also shared their achievements throughout 2024, including having recently finished an Amazon Studios production to be re...

At Focus London 2024, taking place at the Business Design Centre in Angel, North London, Fred Film Radio had the chance to catch up with Luca Ferrario, Director of Trentino Film Fund and Commission. A year on from our last discussion, Ferrario reiterated his key mission make producers in the film and television industry more aware of the region of Trentino. He discussed soms of the key highlights...

At Focus London 2024, Fred Film Radio had the chance to speak with Emanuele Didu, the Production Manager for Sardinia Film Commission. He shared some insights into his work, including supporting productions through every step of creating their movie or TV show, including location scouting activities. He also explained how they even help in the development of stories by connecting writers and filmm...