Magnetic Beats

Magnetic Beats is a lively and distinctive debut from Vincent Maël Cardona channelling post-punk energy in the world of underground radio in 1980s Brittany. A bunch of friends broadcast a free radio station from their hometown in the countryside. Led by the charismatic Jerome and his quiet tech-savvy brother Philippe, they live in the moment until Phillipe is called away for military service. He finds new broadcasting adventures in Berlin but longs to be back home with his friends. Featuring a lively, infectious period soundtrack and brilliantly inventive sound design throughout.

‘I was born pretty much at the time depicted in the film’s first scene, so it’s a film about the world which we were born into, characterised by a clear political shift which saw the left come to power. Between the end of the ‘70s and the beginning of the ‘80s, there was an explosion in rock groups, projects and free radio stations, breaking with our big brothers of ’68 and the idea that you were going to change the world, which they’d tried and failed to do; instead, what mattered was the here and now. We felt that this attitude…was incredibly relevant today, that it was a kind of vanguard archived in sound.’

Director Vincent Maël Cardona, from an interview with Cineuropa.