Good morning all,
And welcome to the 14th issue of the Cultural Reads Newsletter!
A bi-weekly book, music, and movie recommendation from different countries all around the world.
In this week’s newsletter: France, IFFR, Malawi, and an interview with Radiooooo founder Benjamin Monreau.
Radiooooo (France)Benjamin went for a test drive in his dad’s new vintage car. The car had a wooden radio and a magic vibe, but when Ben turned it on, a wave of commercial music directly broke the spell.
That’s when he had an idea. Why not create a tool to travel through time musically?
Radiooooo was born. A platform that divides the world per country and decade, allowing users to play music from any place and time.
I got curious and decided to reach out to Benjamin for an interview, shining some light on Radiooooo’s dynamics as well as some personal favorites!
Check out the full interview here.
International Film Festival Rotterdam (IFFR)Tomorrow, The International Film Festival Rotterdam will commence again. The festival started in 1972 and focuses on independent and experimental filmmaking. For those who have never heard of it, think of the Cannes Film Festival. It’s similar, but with Dutch weather.
The festival usually only shows movies in and around Rotterdam. Due to Covid, however, everything has been moved online. If you’re not living in the Netherlands, this is excellent news.
All the movies can be found on the website and rented for a week. You can find the complete program here.
I Will Try (Malawi)What would you say if your son tells you that he wants to walk from Malawi to the United States to study?
You’d probably say that he’d never make it.
Legson’s mother had a different answer, however. She told Legson that he had to return if he didn’t reach the US in a few days (she had not received formal education herself).
What followed was a 4,000 kilometers trek from Malawi to Sudan. The image above gives you an idea of how insane this is (and that it obviously took more than a few days).
What happened after Khartoum? Did Legson get a chance to study in the United States? Check out the book to find out on Amazon or GoodReads.
