PODCAST | Matt Micucci interviews Kirill Mikhanovsky and Alice Austen, director and writer of the film Give Me Liberty.
A conversation about Give Me Liberty with its director, Kirill Mikhanovsky, and its writer, Alice Austen. The film was featured in the International Competition of the 2019 International Film Festival and Awards Macao, where the interview was recorded. Here, Mikhanovsky and Austen talk about the film and whether they believe it to be a deeply American movie, as well as how it has resonated around the world. They also talk about some of the work that went into the making of the film, highlight Lauren “Lolo” Spencer’s stellar performance and more.
Give Me Liberty: Vic, a hapless young Russian American, drives a handicapped transport in Milwaukee where he shares an apartment with his grandfather. Already late on a day when street protests break out, Vic reluctantly agrees to ferry his grandfather and a dozen elderly Russians to a funeral, but they’re distressed when he stops first in a predominantly African American neighborhood to pick up Tracy, a black woman with ALS. On the verge of being fired, Vic’s day goes from bad to worse.
Alice Rohrwacher has been appointed President of the Caméra d’or Jury at Cannes 2025. Known for her poetic and visionary cinema, Rohrwacher will award the best first feature at the festival’s closing ceremony on May 24.