Let The Cinematic Light Shine- In All It’s Varied Genre Hues

Set up at the start of 2023 Radiance Films is one of the more recently formed boutique labels, though to date it’s released over a hundred titles. These move all over the film genre map- with a general focus on great & fascinating cinema. Each release- be they single films, or boxsets feature wonderful new scans and a great selection of the most worthy/interesting extras.   Behind the company is Francesco Simeoni, the former director of content for Arrow Video. Below is an email interview with Francesco.

M[m]: What are some of your earliest memories of film/ TV shows?  And do you think any of these inspired your passion for film?

Francesco There wasn't a defining moment, I can't recall my first cinema visit or foreign film or anything like that. I think film was always there so it was just growing and a part of my life so there was never a lightbulb moment, that I can remember at least, rather there were a series of moments. Things that stick out are classics from my youth like Back to the Future, Indiana Jones etc. Then as a teen I was getting into Scorsese, Tarantino and so on. I was always big on crime and would devour any Pacino/De Niro even things like Frankie and Johnny! I have a weak spot for sci-fi even though I find a lot of it awful (I prefer to read sci-fi) I do like a good pulpy yarn and I think that goes back to watching things like Land of the Giants but I've always preferred film over TV.   

M[m]: You mention enjoying reading Sci-fi, who do you rank as some of your favourite authors/ books?

Francesco I like classic and gothic fiction a lot so my mind immediately goes to things like I Am Legend by Richard Matheson, The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll, The Picture of Dorian Gray which isn't really sci-fi but it's got that fantastical element to it. But I also like pulpy sci-fi from the mid-century and later like The Demolished Man, Cities in Flight, Ubik, stuff like that. I don't read a lot of modern stuff but I guess Haruki Murakami would qualify, he's a nice easy read and it crosses over with my love of Japanese culture. 

 

 

M[m]: I believe you worked for Arrow Video before setting up Radiance. What did you do with the company?

Francesco I oversaw acquisitions and production in the main but I wore a few hats and was across multiple things at the company. The more senior I became the more I found myself moving away from being closer to the discs and as the company grew larger and there was more pressure to deliver big results the harder it became to do smaller passion projects and take chances but that's what Radiance has been a great outlet for. 

 

M[m]: Do you have any Arrow acquisitions you were particularly proud of?

Francesco Yes, many, it was an incredible time when we had access to major studios and could put out things like Night of the Hunter and Big Trouble in Little China and it was a thrill each time we did that but I think I'm most proud of some of the kinds of films I'm now doing at Radiance and some directors who have crossed over like the Taviani brothers and Kiju Yoshida, they were great boxsets. The Borowczyk box set is one of my very favourites as is The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Miss Osbourne, an incredible film I was always surprised didn't do better but that space between arthouse and horror can divide audiences but it's one I find thrilling. I could go on, there were so many releases we got to do that I would count as not just favourite releases but favourite films

 

 

M[m]: what inspired the label's name, and did you have any other names in mind?

Francesco The name was inspired by my reading about Italian cinema. That's a big passion for me and I was reading about early Italian silent cinema and I thought that would be great but a lot of the names were taken or wouldn't translate. But the silent cinema pioneering companies were not concentrated in Rome like the Italian cinema would later and their radiance across the country was something that would change. And as I read this I liked the idea of radiance, to be spread out but I also liked the connotation of radiating light, like a cinema screen. I have never wanted to focus on one thing, be it a country or genre so I thought radiance was apt in many ways and it just stuck.  

 

M[m]: You talk about having a true passion for Italian film- please talk a little bit about the reasons for this?

Francesco I guess there could be a kinship there, my family is Italian and so I suppose I recognise certain traits or behaviours but there's also certain things about Italian cinema I like a lot but that you wouldn't necessarily see as distinct to Italian cinema. I love political thrillers, especially those by Francesco Rosi but you can also see that with Costa-Gavras or even in the New Hollywood. But I would say whilst I have a passion for Italian cinema I would probably extend that to world cinema of the 1960s/1970s and Japanese cinema in general which I like right from the classic era to the present day. So I think these certainly find their way in the curation of Radiance releases. 

 

M[m]: following on from my last question is there a certain period that appeals to you most? And do you still follow/ enjoy modern Italian film?

Francesco I find modern films much harder to enjoy because we seemingly get such a high volume of releases each week across various streaming platforms, on digital and in cinemas yet I find it hard to find anything actually worth watching but when you go back fifty years the sands of time have washed away all the rubbish so it's a lot easier to find films of worth. I do love modern cinema and want to support it, I was keen on Trenque Lauquen not because it's new or to appeal to a certain audience type but because I think it's an incredible film. I don't subscribe to the notion that 'they don't make them like they used to' because there are always great films but there's just a lot of rubbish and sometimes it's just difficult to wade through it all and this is made harder because we're seeing more films made than ever.  

 

 

M[m] : Aside from yourself who is behind Radiance, and what are their roles within the label?

Francesco We have Filippo Di Battista who looks after design, Stephen C. Horne looks after us technically part-time, he also oversees various restoration tasks and grades our films when they need it. Paul Martinovic is our production manager and he oversees various projects ensuring they get completed along with producing releases. Tom Mes also produces a lot of our Japanese releases and shoots various extras but he also works for other labels. David Mackenzie has his own company but as our sole authoring company he is an important part of our process. Esteban Medaglia is our key QC operator, again he works for others but he's a key element of our team and ensure our discs are faultless! Then we work regularly with various people in a smaller but important capacity like Jonathan Coucoulas who illustrates new covers for us, Dan McBride does trailers for us, Bill Ackerman proofs a lot of our stuff, Then we have various key people that we're using for extras and subtitling, but again a lot of these people are working for other companies but the boutique world is small and collegiate so it's nice to have that sense of community.      

 

 

M[m] For all your releases so far you’ve settled on using obi strips as part of your house style- what inspired this?

Francesco There were multiple factors that settled this and the main one was to be able to have sleeves that were unencumbered, allowing the designs both front and back to be very minimalist and allow the artwork to be free of things that people find annoying like ratings logos. I also thought this would give a distinct feeling and make the releases feel connected without making them rigid and formulaic. The inspiration comes from Japanese CDs originally but I know them from vinyl myself and at Arrow we released some records and I thought the obi was a great way to have everything you need. I worked out you could put them on the sleeve and have them in place satisfying various legal and retail requirements like BBFC and barcodes and catalogue number data etc.  

 

M[m] Radiance output has been decidedly genre-varied, Please talk a little bit about how you select the films you're going to release month by month?

Francesco We try and keep a good variety month to month, the idea is there's always something there for people who might like Radiance. Releasing an entire month of just Japanese genre films might be alienating so we try and ensure we're offering a good mix. The films themselves are selected entirely by taste, they're films we believe in and want to release, they have some kind of relevance to film history or within our own catalogue. A good example would be Luigi Comencini, we started with The Sunday Woman and then progressed to Misunderstood. Comencini is a great director who we wanted to spotlight so we did two of his films and hopefully more will follow. The films themselves also represent how we approach things. The Sunday Woman is a giallo in the Italian sense, it's a murder mystery, it's got top stars of its era and it's a great comedy but also a mystery, it crosses genre borders in really fascinating ways and it's a slice of Italian cinema we don't see much. So it has all these fascinating elements which pique our interest. So it's interesting to build a picture of Italian cinema with quality films rather than to just check off easy to sell but less quality-minded films. The same could be said for our Tai Kato collection, we have four films released in single editions representing a few different genres or spins on the same genre if you like but this was a remarkable talent that has largely been underground. The last Kato retrospective was in London in 1999 and it didn't really travel to other cities and nothing on home video so it's a real thrill to dig up this kind of buried treasure. Alongside this we release more established names like Jacques Rivette's L'amour fou or Dennis Hopper's The Hot Spot but all follow the same kind of values, films we believe in. 

 

M[m] Many of the titles you release are lesser-seen/ rare- what have been some of the more difficult titles to source prints for? And do you have any interesting stories regarding tracking down prints?

Francesco This is done simultaneously with finding the rights since when you're talking to someone who owns rights material is of the highest importance so it's an ongoing discussion. We tried to release some Kon Ichikawa films but the materials weren't up to scratch but hopefully that's a conversation we can have in future. As we select films that we love they're always going to be on our list and pursued, we're not just selecting what's available and dumping them out like a shopping basket, for us this is an ongoing process and sometimes getting films out takes years.  

 

M[m]  talking of your love for Sci-fi, are there any film titles you be keen to reissue?

Francesco I am in discussion on a sci-fi film I've been after for many years and discussed with the director but it never came together so here's hoping second time is the charm. I am sure there will be others but I prefer sci-fi literature much more to films as I often find sci-fi films lacking or straying too much and becoming something else, either action or horror which is fine but then there are fewer sci-fi thrills or world-building.

 

M[m] To date, you’ve released a hundred-plus titles- please select ten of your favourite titles, and give some explanation for each choice?

 FrancescoI would find it impossible to rank so I'll list ten films I love by spine number:

 

10. Fill 'er up with Super

This was a real discovery for me, when Radiance was starting I binged a load of Alain Cavalier and this was the one I probably enjoyed the most. I say enjoyed because not only is it a very good film but it's very layered with the depth of the performances and the humour. When working on it I surprised myself by laughing at it repeatedly and I think that's testament to the quality of the script and the acting. Much like Mike Leigh this film was heavily workshopped and improvised before being scripted and then shot so it's got an amazingly breezy quality whilst also being incredibly precise. It's also a lovely looking film for a minimalist crew.

 

21. Il sorpasso

This is in our commedia all'italiana box set and I find this whole style of filmmaking fascinating, it was such a pleasure to put the box set together and create extras which I hope will expand people's understanding of this misunderstood/underrepresented filmmaking style. Il sorpasso is one of the finest examples of the style, it's hilariously funny but also touching and with a very dark underbelly. It's a total masterpiece and if people check out one film from this style of filmmaking it should be this.

 

23. A Moment of Romance

I'm not the world's best heroic bloodshed expert but I watched this film and fell in love with it. It's a typical heroic bloodshed narrative, it's good girl falls in love with bad boy but despite the cliches it's brilliantly directed, the performances overcoming cliche, the action thrilling, the photography stunning and a great pounding score. 

 

24. The Dead Mother

This is a very dark thriller with some moments of pitch black comedy. It's an expertly made thriller about a girl who is kidnapped by a psychotic criminal. The combination of the crime/thriller genre with dark humour reminded me of the Coen brothers a bit. The score was so beautiful I was delighted we got to do a CD of it.

 

41. Eighteen Years in Prison

I could easily have chosen any Tai Kato film but I think I'm choosing this one as I watched it most recently. Noboru Ando gives a brilliant performance (his best?) as a good guy who ends up in jail and then determines to get out to protect the community he was building. Tomisaburo Wakayama is the despicable warden who makes his life hell. It's a classic and well worn genre but Kato always elevates genre, not just through his stunning style but through his sensitivity to plotting. He is a meticulous filmmaker through and through and for me this plays as well as any American studio picture and if it were one it would be an established classic today.

 

51. Misunderstood

I've mentioned Comencini before but I can't not mention this film which I think is achingly beautiful. I think melodrama is not in fashion so much and many find it hard to get on with but for me this is up there with the best of Douglas Sirk. The performances by the two children are astonishing. This film just breaks my heart so much but there's something so incredibly cathartic about experiencing stories like this. 

 

56-57. Bandits of Orgosolo / The Lost World

When I first this collection of short films by Vittorio De Seta I was blown away. A filmmaker who was capturing reality yet with stunning poetic style. Italian filmmakers have a habit of being able to capture reality with style, Luchino Visconti and Francesco Rosi did it beautifully and De Seta is very much their equal with these films. De Seta has probably mostly been confused for De Sica by film fans but after watching these films I think he'll have an incredible reputation of his own. 

 

60. Kill the Referee

This is the middle part of our Mocky box and I recommend people start with this film when getting the box. It's an all night nightmare narrative in the vein of After Hours or Green Room and typical for Mocky it's not a simple genre exercise. What I like about Mocky a lot is he was such a distinctive filmmaker with a clear voice and approach. I flock to filmmakers like this nowadays. People ask me if I like genre films and I do, but I like them with a twist. Mocky has an incredible twist.

 

63. Tchao Pantin

This is another French genre film, another well worn cliche but one that elevates its narrative. Beautifully shot with brilliant performances at its heart I am thrilled we got to do this film. I love to dive into films knowing nothing and I recommend people do the same with this one!

 

64. The Landlord

I came to this film surprisingly late despite being an Ashby fan. I was knocked out by how fully formed Ashby was in his debut feature, it's got all the hallmarks of his filmmaking whilst also being a brilliant critique of race relations at the time. The performances in the film are stunning and it's a great showcase for the women in the film despite being presented as a male fronted film. I think the ad campaign for the film was terrible and no doubt put a lot of people off, people should remember this is a great Hal Ashby film. Hopefully our presentation gets people to take a chance on it more.

 

M[m] You’ve put out several box sets on the label now- any thoughts on the next one?

 Francisco The next boxset is going to be a collection of Japanese horror films which I am very excited about, we've been sitting on these films for a year and hoped to get them out sooner decided to wait and position them for Halloween and it's so fortunate we did as the studio restored them in 4K without telling us or even the sales people until the last minute so it's been a real blessing! We have another box set coming after that and then next year should follow a similar pattern to this year or slightly more probably as we have a number of box sets we're working on and right now the challenge seems to be how to squeeze them all in. 

 

 

M[m] What have been your best-selling & least-selling titles thus far?

FrancescoOur horror titles have unquestionably sold best - Messiah of Evil, The Horrible Dr Hichcock out front but also Scream and Scream Again and already Planet of the Vampires. we've also seen a good showing for A Moment of Romance, Miami Blues, The Hot Spot, The Bride Wore Black, the Bounty Hunter trilogy and Shinobi are also tracking well.

 

Least selling titles have been titles like Fill 'er up with Super, She Dies Tomorrow but even then these haven't done badly just lower than others. Thankfully most things seem to be connecting with audiences which is great.

 

 

M[m] You now sell titles in both the UK & US- how do these markets vary?, and do certain types of films sell better in the UK & US?

Francesco The US is so large it's very difficult to make an impact, five years will go by and we will still only be touching a tiny fragment of the audience. We would need to release a huge tentpole style title to get us noticed and then convert fans but that's fine. It's not our aim to do that and if we can subsist on a small niche audience and just put out niche films that's fine, we've no desire to compete with Criterion or Kino. 

 

 

M[m] Are you able to give us any information on new titles coming in the next six or so months?

Francesco We have a trio of Italian titles coming soon which all work along a theme which is going to be interesting to see reactions to. There's some bigger names coming up soon like Seijun Suzuki, Bunuel, Fukasaku alongside less well-known names and Halloween is looking particularly stacked which is really exciting. Each month I think this is the best month we've done so I hope we can continue that level of quality.

 

M[m] Can you see expanding what you release on  Radiance i.e. soundtracks, books, etc.?

Francesco Yes certainly, we've done some zines and one book but I'd love to do more books. In time certainly, I am always thinking about books but waiting for the right subject or writer!

 

 

M[m] What has made an impact on you over the last six or so months- be it music, art, film, or TV shows?

Francesco I saw Radu Jude's Do Not Expect Too Much from the End of the World which I thought was astonishing. He's one of the most exciting filmmakers working today I think. I asked the distributor to license his earlier film but they never responded sadly.

 

 

M[m] Can you see expanding what you release on  Radiance i.e. soundtracks, books, etc.?

Francesco Yes certainly, we've done some zines and one book but I'd love to do more books. In time certainly, I am always thinking about books but waiting for the right subject or writer!

 

Thanks to Francesco for his time & efforts with the interview. Radiance Films website can be found https://www.radiancefilms.co.uk/