FRED Film Radio - English Channel

Eva Sangiorgi, festival director of the Viennale 2026, describes an event built around bringing a broad selection of recent cinema to audiences in Vienna. The festival combines contemporary films with historical programmes, without dividing its main selection into competitions or genre categories. Sangiorgi’s account offers a view of how the Viennale balances discovery, accessibility and film history. Its programme reflects both the range of cinema being made today and the festival’s relationship with its local audience. A city festival centred on its audience The Viennale takes place across independent cinemas in Vienna, with a programme designed primarily for the city’s filmgoers rather than industry professionals. Sangiorgi says the festival presents more than 100 contemporary feature films and over 40 shorts, bringing together work from varied countries, production contexts and scales. The selection ranges from films backed by major studios or streaming companies to independently made projects. Rather than separating documentary from fiction or sorting films into numerous categories, the programme places different approaches alongside one another. Sangiorgi looks for work that can surprise, whether through familiar storytelling, experimental form or a combination of styles, while retaining a distinct artistic perspective. A broad selection without competition The absence of an official competition shapes the Viennale’s atmosphere and gives Sangiorgi greater freedom in programming. Established filmmakers can appear alongside emerging artists and lesser-known discoveries, without the films being arranged according to status or production budget. The festival also does not rely on premiere requirements to determine its choices, allowing the selection to follow the director’s interests. Sangiorgi describes the relationship with Vienna’s audience as one of mutual trust: regular attendees are willing to encounter unfamiliar work as well as more recognisable names. That openness, she suggests, helps the festival remain varied and relaxed. Historical programmes alongside contemporary cinema The festival’s historical offerings provide a counterpoint to its contemporary selection, connecting current filmmaking with cinema’s past. A major retrospective, organised with the Vienna Film Museum, is devoted to Robert Aldrich, with screenings continuing beyond the festival through November. Other strands include filmmaker-focused monographies, studies of a particular period in an artist’s work, and selections of recently restored films. This year’s programme also includes a focus on Jocelyne Saab, whose work Sangiorgi considers insufficiently represented in German-speaking countries. Together, these strands give audiences opportunities to revisit overlooked filmmakers, explore specific cinematic histories and encounter restored works on the big screen. The post Viennale 2026, interview with the festival director Eva Sangiorgi appeared first on Fred Film Radio.

During the Rome Film Fest 2026, we spoke with Ruth Beckermann, director of the documentary feature Wax & Gold. The documentary, presented at the Festival, examines Ethiopia through the life of a hotel and the histories attached to it. The film brings together contemporary scenes, archival footage, music and reflections on how outsiders have represented the country. Beckermann’s account is indeed notable for questioning both the European gaze and the easy narratives that can turn historical figures into symbols. The interview During our interview for FRED Film Radio, it was clear how the Hilton in Addis Ababa offered Ruth Beckermann a setting through which to encounter middle- and upper-class guests alongside employees with relatively stable work. In her documentary Wax & Gold, did not want to frame Ethiopia solely through images of rural poverty, a perspective that often dominates television coverage. The hotel does obviously not represent every layer of society, she stressed, but its mix of visitors and workers reveals a different part of the country. Its routines also give the documentary a place from which to observe social relations without claiming to speak for all Ethiopians. Much of the historical footage in Wax & Gold was made by British, Italian and other European filmmakers or journalists, and Beckermann told us how she treated those images not as neutral proof, but as material shaped by the viewpoints of their makers and by her own position as a European filmmaker. The documentary indeed asks viewers to consider where historical images come from and how their meaning is formed. That approach also informs its portrait of Hailé Selassié, whose long rule included modernisation but also neglect during devastating famines. Beckermann described the emperor as a complicated figure, whose later reputation has been coloured by what followed his overthrow, including the communist regime. Sound gives the film another way to approach Ethiopia beyond archival images and narration. Beckermann drew on Ethiopian jazz, and a musical passage accompanies the film’s departure from the hotel and the journey through the city, bringing its streets into the documentary’s sensory landscape. Beckermann’s Wax & Gold also reflects on Addis Ababa’s rapid transformation, where new construction exists alongside persistent poverty. While nonetheless Europeans may favour preserving old urban spaces, she found a sort of untold energy also in the city’s drive for better infrastructure and new buildings, even if it means contrasting that confidence in the future with Europe’s attachment to its past. The post “Wax & Gold”, interview with director Ruth Beckermann appeared first on Fred Film Radio.

Presented in competition at Alice nella Città 2026, Mala Bèstia marks Bàrbara Farré’s feature directorial debut, exploring adolescence through the unsettling language of dark fairy tales and psychological thrillers. Farré and producer Diego Betancor discuss the film’s personal origins, its examination of female identity and the importance of preserving creative freedom in contemporary filmmaking. At the center of the story is Atenea, a girl at a boarding school who desperately wants to remain a child. When a couple offers her the possibility of a family, she begins to imagine a future shaped by affection and belonging. Yet the fear of losing her place, or being replaced, gradually awakens something darker within her. Rather than approaching adolescence realistically, Farré turns the anxieties of growing up into a disturbing narrative about bodily transformation, desire, and the need to be accepted. Mala Bèstia: adolescence as a frightening transformation For Farré, portraying adolescence as a threatening experience comes directly from her own memories of growing up. The director recalls the confusion surrounding puberty, menstruation and the emergence of sexuality, particularly the difficulty of understanding these changes without adequate references or conversations. The film therefore attempts to revisit those formative experiences through fiction. As Betancor observes in the interview, Farré wanted to make the kind of film she would have appreciated as a teenager, something that might have helped her understand the changes in her body and identity. This personal perspective shapes the film’s unusual approach to coming of age. Growing up is not simply a natural progression towards adulthood, but an experience marked by uncertainty, resistance and the fear of losing control over one’s identity. Bàrbara Farré on the beast within The title Mala Bèstia suggests monstrosity, yet Farré rejects the idea that the beast should necessarily be understood as an external threat. For the director, it represents a darker dimension of human identity that we must acknowledge rather than suppress. “Everybody has got this dark side inside themselves,” Farré explains, suggesting that accepting this hidden part of ourselves can become an essential step towards self-understanding. This interpretation is closely connected to the film’s portrayal of female adolescence. The girls’ bodies influence how they are classified and treated, exposing the social expectations imposed on young women before they have developed the freedom to define themselves. Farré is particularly interested in how physical transformation changes society’s perception of girls, often assigning them new roles and responsibilities without considering their emotional readiness. In Mala Bèstia, the monstrous thus becomes inseparable from the experience of growing up in a world that attempts to determine who a girl should become. Diego Betancor and the creative freedom behind Mala Bèstia The film’s distinctive visual and narrative identity also reflects an unusual creative relationship between Farré and Betancor. The producer, whose previous work includes the Netflix series Élite, first became interested in Farré through her earlier projects. After collaborating on another television series, they decided to develop her first feature together. Both were determined to protect the director’s artistic vision, even if that meant accepting financial limitations and a more complicated production process. Betancor describes the project as an opportunity to create an “oasis of creative freedom”, away from the industrial expectations associated with their work in television, advertising and music videos. The relatively limited budget posed challenges, but it also let them focus on making the film they wanted. Their collaboration rested on a shared understanding that the project should follow its own narrative and aesthetic principles rather than conform to familiar commercial formulas. Mala Bèstia and the choice of an independent cinematic voice For Farré, making her first feature was also a chance to define her relationship with cinema. Having worked extensively in commercials and music videos, she wanted her debut to express a personal sensibility, with a different rhythm and greater space for poetic expression. During the conversation, the filmmakers describe their approach as a form of resistance to algorithm-driven storytelling and the growing influence of platforms and artificial intelligence on audiovisual production. Farré acknowledges that choosing this path can make a film more difficult to finance and distribute. Nevertheless, she considers taking creative risks fundamental to filmmaking. The director also reflects on the personal transformation that came with completing her first feature. Working on material so closely connected to her own experiences became a process of self-discovery, revealing aspects of her identity that she had not fully recognized before. The post “Mala Bèstia”, interview with director Bàrbara Farré and producer Diego Betancor appeared first on Fred Film Radio.

During the 24th edition of Alice nella Città, in Rome, we spoke with character designer Thibault Leclercq for the film Wildwood, e mesmerizing tale of adventure and discovery that uses the stop-motion animation technique with a bigger scale than ever. The film adapts a novel by Colin Meloy enriched by his wife Carson Ellis’ illustrations, which provided a distinctive starting point also for the character designs of the film. Leclercq describes indeed how the team sought to honour that visual identity while shaping characters for a feature film with a more mature tone, also revealing how Portland’s landscape and the practical demands of puppetry helped in creating the film’s blend of naturalism and fantasy. The interview During our interview on FRED Film Radio, Leclercq stated that the Wildwood design process began with a commitment to retain the charm and illustrative quality associated with Ellis’s work. That influence appears in the puppets’ fine details, from their hair and anatomical features to the patterns on their costumes. The designs also preserve a simplicity in their silhouettes, keeping a connection to the source material without reproducing it unchanged. At the same time, Leclercq aimed to give the characters greater sophistication, suited to a story that moves between wonder, hardship and darkness. The narrative strenght of Wildwood also lays in its relationship with the natural world shaped the visual approach, character designer Thibault Leclercq also explains. Rather than relying on obvious symbols, the designer team drew on organic forms, subtle curves and asymmetry, allowing small irregularities to make the characters feel connected to nature. His own experience of moving to Portland to work on the film offered a close view of how residents relate to the surrounding woods and landscape. Observing local habits and ways of dressing helped him develop a more grounded sense of the world the characters inhabit. Also the animal characters required a balance between expressive movement and believable animal behaviour. What Leclercq said to FRED Film Radio is that the Wildwood design team worked alongside the puppet team to make the creatures convincing, including coyotes that move upright despite being naturally four-legged. The “Napoleonic” costumes of some of the characters also add an intentionally unsettling quality, while the characters remain recognisably animals rather than humans concealed by animal disguises. A balance of fantastic and realistic, among many other incredible aspects, that makes Wildwood in of the most astonishing examples of stop-motion animation of our times. The post “Wildwood”, interview with character designer Thibault Leclercq appeared first on Fred Film Radio.

Marian Arechega, the director of the Edinburgh Spanish Film Festival, discusses the evolution and highlights of the festival’s 13th edition. She emphasises the festival’s growth in Scotland, its diverse programming, and its efforts to foster cultural exchange through Spanish cinema. This interview offers insight into how the festival continues to strengthen its role as a key platform for Spanish films in the UK. The festival’s development and regional reach Marian Arechega explains that the Edinburgh Spanish Film Festival began thirteen years ago with no prior experience in organising such an event. Over time, it has established itself firmly within Scotland, attracting a growing audience and creating a stable cultural initiative. Originally focused solely on Edinburgh, the festival now extends its screenings to several Scottish cities and even beyond, including one event in Manchester, broadening its impact and visibility. Diversity of themes and films in the Edinburgh Spanish Film Festival This year’s edition features a wide-ranging programme that defies a single theme, offering genres from drama and comedy to social cinema and romance. Marian highlights that the core focus is on imperfect family relationships, exploring conflicts and secrets across generations. The festival also emphasises stories of individuals seeking their place in the world, with films portraying both youth and older generations, and dialogues connecting past and present. A notable aspect is its commitment to showcasing female voices and stories of resilience. Celebrating Spanish and Latin American cinema at Edinburgh Spanish Film Festival The festival maintains a strong presence of Spanish films, with special sections that highlight films made in the Basque Country and in Latin America. Marian notes that Latin American cinema is always part of the programme, despite logistical challenges and costs. The Basque window is a recent addition, supported by a sponsor, showcasing films in both Euskera and Spanish. This year’s selection includes the queer ageing dramedy Maspalomas (Dirs. Jose Mari Goenaga and Aitor Arregui, 2025), and folk horror fantasy Gaua, directed by Paul Urkijo. This diversity underscores the festival’s role in promoting lesser-represented regions and languages within Spanish-speaking cinema, enriching the cultural dialogue in Scotland. Programme Highlights Among this edition’s highlights, Arechega discusses the sold-out gala screenings of Rondallas/Band Together (Daniel Sánchez Arévalo, 2026), which opens the festival with the presence of leading actors Judith Fernández and Fer Fraga (in the photo with Marian), and the special preview of this year’s Spanish Oscar contender La bola negra, directed by Javier Calvo and Javier Ambrossi (winners of this year’s Cannes Festival Award for Best Direction). Author and screenwriter Alberto Conejero will be in attendance at the Festival for a Q&A after the screening. The post Edinburgh Spanish Film Festival, interview with festival director Marian Arechega appeared first on Fred Film Radio.