Son of a Lion

Amanda Palmer interviews the director of Son of a Lion; Benjamin Gilmour

Benjamin Gilmour, a Sydney-based ambulance officer, became interested in filmmaking while working as a unit nurse on UK film sets.

A seasoned traveller and writer, Gilmour fell in love with Pakistan’s Northwest Frontier Province (NWFP) when he first went there in early 2001. 

Of course, after September 11 that year, the NWFP became famous for its links to the Taliban and its rumoured status as Osama Bin-Laden’s secret hiding place.

In Darra Adam Khel, a town whose primary industry is “mom & pop” weapons manufacturing, Gilmour saw boys catching bullet-shells as they fell from the air after being test-fired skywards, and heard from his guide about one boy who wanted to go to school rather than becoming a gun-maker like his father. 

In 2004 Gilmour based himself in Pakistan for eight months of pre-production, making contacts and building relationships. He learnt some basic Pashto, and developed an invaluable collaboration with executive producer Hayat Khan Shinwari. In 2006 he returned to complete filming of Son of a Lion.

Benjamin Gilmore joins presenter Amanda Palmer as a special guest on The Fabulous Picture Show at the Everyman Cinema Club to discuss the dangers in filming his feature debut and the lengths he went to make sure his film was a fair portrayal of the Pashtu people, who have in recent years had the world’s eyes on them.

Kabei

Kabei; a controversial story of a Japanese family in tatters during World War II

Japanese cinema has been world-renowned since the 1950s, but in all those years, few filmmakers have been bold enough to explore Japan’s past as a military aggressor. 

But now 76-year-old Yoji Yamada, who spent most of his career making the hugely popular but lightweight Tora-san film series, has come up with a searing drama about a Japanese family torn apart on the eve of World War II when the father is arrested for speaking out against Japanese militarism. 

We interview Yamada about his film Kabei, or Our Mother and about Japan’s collective reluctance to confront its past. 

Peter and the Wolf

Suzie Templeton’s adaptation of Peter and the Wolf earnt her an Oscar in 2008

Amanda Palmer joins animator Suzie Templeton to talk about her version of Peter and the Wolf, inspired by Sergei Prokofiev’s 1936 children’s musical classic. 

Templeton’s first animation since design college, it won “Best Animated Short Film” at this year’s Academy Awards. 

Templeton worked with a team of 200 animators from the renowned Polish Se-Ma-For studio to create a fairy tale with both emotional and artistic depth. 

Surrounded by her cast of intricate, life-like puppets, Templeton talks through the painstaking process of stop-frame animation and the power that comes from winning an Oscar.

Keisha Castle Hughes

Keisha Castle Hughes in her Oscar nominated role in Whale Rider

Keisha Castle Hughes made history when, at age 13, she became the youngest ever Best Actress Oscar nominee.

She was nominated for her role in the New Zealand film Whale Rider, which became an international hit.

She went on to star in films like The Nativity Story and Star Wars – Revenge of the Sith. But more recently Keisha has taken time out for the birth of her daughter, Felicity. 

Now 18, Keisha is preparing to re-enter the spotlight with the release of a new film and with production about to begin on another.

We talk to her at the Berlin premiere of the Australian teen comedy, Hey, Hey, It’s Esther Blueberger.

Watch part one of this week’s episode on YouTube

Watch part two of this week’s episode on YouTube

This episode of The Fabulous Picture Show will be broadcast at the following times GMT:

Saturday17th May 14:30; 22:30; Sunday 18th  May 02:30;12:30 Monday 19th May  00:30; ; Tuesday 20th May  13:30; Wednesday 21st  May 19:30; Thursday 22nd  May 05:30; Friday 23rd  May 03:00; 10:30; Saturday 24th May 06:30.