The Film Programme

Comedian Kristen Wiig on Bridesmaids, her rom-com from the female point of view. Co-written by Wiig, Bridesmaids is produced by Judd Apatow, king of the buddy comedies. Andrew Collins assesses his influence.Director Denis Villeneuve discusses his Oscar-nominated film Incendies, about a pair of twins who travel to the Middle East to shed light on their family's complicated past. Viva Riva director Djo Munga reveals his struggle to make the Congo's first gangster film, where there are no studios and very few professional actors or trained technicians. This month marks the centenary of Bernard Herrmann's birth. One of the giants of film music composition his scores include Citizen Kane, Psycho and Taxi Driver. Friend and fellow composer Laurie Johnson remembers. Producer: Craig Smith.

Topping the bill in this week's Film Programme are Kevin Macdonald and Brendan Gleeson. Macdonald discusses his extraordinary documentary, Life in a Day, which he quarried from more than eighty thousand clips submitted via the internet and Gleeson offers insights into Gerry Boyle, the quirky Connemara cop he plays in John McDonagh's The Guard. Francine Stock also talks to the critic, Jane Graham, about Edinburgh's International Film Festival which opened this week and invites the film historian Pasquale Iannone to reflect on Paolo Sorrentino, one of Italy's modern masters.Producer: Zahid Warley.

The Film Programme this week is all about seeing double - from acting partnerships to technological innovation. Francine Stock will be investigating Francois Ozon's new film, Potiche, which stars Catherine Deneuve and Gerard Depardieu - you could say the Bogart and Bacall of contemporary French cinema - and there's also a revaluation of one of the lost gems of the Eighties, Ivan Passer's Cutter's Way which features Jeff Bridges and Lisa Eichhorn. For those fascinated by the mechanics of cinema the acclaimed cameraman, Seamus McGarvey, is joined by the BFI's Bryony Dixon to consider how doubling the frame rate at which films are shot -as Peter Jackson intends to do with The Hobbit - might affect the clarity and poetry of the images we see on our screens. And Steve James, the director of Hoop Dreams, talks about his latest film - The Interrupters, a vivid account of a courageous project aimed at tackling street violence in Chicago.Producer: Zahid Warley.

Documentaries are in vogue. From Man on Wire to the films of Michael Moore they've captured our hearts and our minds. In this week's edition of The Film Programme Francine Stock examines the very latest and very best of the current releases such as Asif Kapadia's much lauded Senna and Jerry Rothwell's subtle account of the family in the age of the sperm bank, Donor Unknown. The BBC's Storyville editor, Nick Fraser, will be paying tribute to two acknowledged masters, the Maysles Brothers, whose work includes the iconic, Gimme Shelter and the beautiful and affecting portrait of down-at-heel American aristocracy, Grey Gardens. And to round things off Charlie Phillips, one of the organisers of the Sheffield Documentary Festival, and the director Emily James discuss crowd funding - a business model that's revolutionising the genre Producer Zahid Warley.

In the Film Programme this week Francine Stock talks to the screenwriter Jane Goldman about the latest X-Men feature; discusses metaphysics and the intractability of goats with Michelangelo Frammartino, the director of the brilliant and mysterious Le Quattro Volte; and shares in the author and critic Kim Newman's enthusiasm for a comedy thriller featuring Jane Russell, Robert Mitchum and Vincent Price. There's also a master class in the kind of music that makes an action sequence really fizz from Neil Brand. Producer: Zahid Warley.

Francine Stock has her travelling shoes on for The Film Programme this week. There's a trip to Cannes to hear what's soon going to be showing in an art house near you; there's a journey back in time to assess Karel Reisz' Isadora starring Vanessa Redgrave; and Francine nips down to the Antarctic to savour Herbert Ponting's Twenties classic, The Great White Silence which has just been released in a dazzling new print with a brand new score composed by Simon Fisher Turner. And last but not least - as the cliché would have it - the independent cinema owner, Kevin Markwick and the former editor of Screen International, Michael Gubbins take the temperature of the film industry in what's been a tricky year. Producer: Zahid Warley.

From multiplex to art house - Francine Stock talks to the man behind the Pirates of the Caribbean franchise, Jerry Bruckheimer and probes him on the reasons for their perennial appeal. There are interviews too with three of the directors behind this weekend's film releases - Emilio Estevez speaks about his movie The Way, staring his father Martin Sheen; Chad's Mahamat-Saleh Haroun explains why he's thrilled to follow his success with A Screaming Man at last year's Cannes festival with a place on this year's judging panel; and Joe Cornish comes into the studio to talk about his new British film Attack the Block. Producer: Zahid Warley.

In the Film Programme this week Francine Stock talks to the director of Atonement, Joe Wright about his new film, Hanna; the charismatic Christoph Waltz, who stars in Water for Elephants, discusses the craft of screen acting; and the film historian Neil Brand reflects on cinema's ironic use of music. There's also a look back to two cult films released in 1968 - Bob Rafelson's Head and the even rarer Joanna, directed by Mike Sarne, which has just been released on DVD.Producer: Zahid Warley.

Ray Winstone and Christian Carion talk to Francine Stock about their new films. There's a preview of the London Australian Film Festival which opens soon at the Barbican and Lucien Castaing-Taylor explains the fascination of sheep and the motives behind the beautiful and unsentimental documentary he and Ilisa Barbash have made about the last modern-day cowboys to lead their flocks up into Montana's breathtaking and often dangerous mountains for summer pasture. Producer: Zahid Warley.

The Film Programme covers all the tenses this week - past, present and future. Francine Stock talks to the director, Guillaume Canet, about his latest film, Little White Lies, which has sold five million tickets in France alone and is opening in cinemas here now.To look back she's joined by the writer, Paul Mayersberg and the historian, Pasquale Iannone. Paul will be discussing the genesis of Nicholas Roeg's The Man Who Fell to Earth while, on the eve of a big Bertolucci season on London's Southbank, Pasquale considers the importance of his second feature, Before the Revolution. Last but not least, the critic Tony Rayns, examines China's attitude to foreign films and what the future might hold for directors trying to get a toehold in its huge marketProducer - Zahid Warley.

This week in The Film Programme Francine Stock travels north of Hadrian's Wall in search of lost Romans and backwards in time to ponder the mysterious and beautiful Palaeolithic paintings found on the walls of a cave in southern France. Her companion for the foray into the land of the Picts is Kevin MacDonald who has directed a film version of Rosemary Sutcliff's classic book, The Eagle of the Ninth; and for the trip to the caves she's joined by the veteran German director, Werner Herzog. His documentary Cave of Forgotten Dreams is shot in 3D and has been hailed as his best film to date....quite a claim for a man with Fitzcarraldo and Aguirre, Wrath of God in his back catalogue. There's also an interview with Brian Cox about two of his favourite films and the sound designer, Matt Wand, offers us a glimpse into the world of the Foley artist - the people who not only make Marilyn's heels go clickety clack and Clint's horses go cloppity clop but invite us to dream.Producer - Zahid Warley.

Richard Ayoade - who found fame as a computer geek in The IT Crowd - has directed his first film, Submarine, based on a novel by Joe Dunthorne. They join Francine Stock to discuss the comedy of adolescence and the influence of French director Eric Rohmer. Neil Brand is behind the piano to deconstruct the recurring hook in film scores from Taxi Driver to True Grit. Filmmaker Richard Jobson assesses The Singer Not the Song, starring Dirk Bogarde as a Mexican bandit in this 1961 curio. Ken Loach talks about his latest - Route Irish - a Liverpudlian thriller exploring the consequences suffered by private contractors in Iraq.

Francine Stock meets with Jez and John-Henry Butterworth, the writers behind Fair Game, a political thriller starring Sean Penn and Naomi Watts. Star Wars super-fan Jamie Benning explains why he has spent four years making three unofficial documentaries about the initial trilogy. Lesley Manville dissects her performance in Mike Leigh's Another Year, now out on DVD.Director Anh Hung Tran discusses his adaptation of Haruki Murakami's Norwegian Wood. Staff Benda Bilili are a collection of disabled musicians who have been propelled from the streets of Kinshasa to international acclaim thanks to a new documentary. Its co-director Renaurd Barret explains all. Producer: Craig Smith.

Francine Stock talks to British director Joanna Hogg about Archipelago, a tense and awkward family drama set on the island of Tresco. Director Andrew Ruhemann discusses an overlooked British success at last Sunday's Oscars - his winning short animation The Lost Thing. Francine visits The Junior Film Club in Lewes, Sussex to report on an inventive initiative to engage children in film. Director Marc Evans talks about his road movie Patagonia, starring the singer Duffy in her first film role. Producer Craig Smith.

The awards season reaches its grand finale this Sunday with the 83rd Annual Academy Awards and Francine Stock is here with an indispensable guide to this year's crop of films hoping for Oscar glory. With contributions from, amongst others, Darren Aronofsky, Jesse Eisenberg, Amy Adams, Helena Bonham Carter and Mike Leigh. Film critic Adam Smith will explain why he won't be glued to the television late in to Sunday night. Australian director David Michod discusses his accomplished first feature Animal Kingdom, a family crime drama set in Melbourne, and winner of the Grand Jury Prize at the Sundance film festival last year. Producer: Craig Smith.

Francine Stock meets Simon Pegg and Nick Frost to discuss Paul. A homage to the sci-fi films of their childhood, the film sees the pair embark on a road trip across America where they meet a real life alien. Neil Brand is here to give a musical guide through the world of dreams in film. Iranian director Rafi Pitts discusses The Hunter, a metaphorical meditation on the current political situation of his home country. Liverpudlian Geoff Woodbridge is a big fan of horror films. He's just watched one a day for the last year. He explains why and picks out a couple of favourites. Producer: Craig Smith.

Francine Stock talks to Hailee Steinfeld the young actress who stars with Jeff Bridges and Matt Damon in The Coen Brothers' remake of True Grit. Sir Christopher Frayling is also on hand to give an assessment of the modern Western.Keira Knightley discusses her role in the adaptation of Kazuo Ishiguro's novel Never Let Me Go.Author Jonathan Coe looks at the career of Japanese filmmaker Kenji Mizoguchi, seen as one of the first 'feminist' directors.Director David O. Russell talks family politics in real-life boxing tale The Fighter.

Francine Stock meets with Dame Helen Mirren who stars in Rowan Joffe's adaptation of Graham Greene's Brighton Rock, set in the 1960s era of mods and rockers. Director Stephen Frears discusses his love of Howard Hawks and focuses on Only Angels Have Wings from 1939, starring Cary Grant and Rita Hayworth. Critic Nigel Floyd considers two films from the 1960s - Morgan: A Suitable Case for Treatment and A Blonde in Love - both from Czech-born directors, Karel Reisz and Milos Forman. John Cameron Mitchell - director of Hedwig and the Angry Inch and Shortbus - talks about his latest, Rabbit Hole, starring Nicole Kidman and Aaron Eckhart as a couple coming to terms with the loss of a child. Producer: Craig Smith.

Francine Stock talks to Paul Giamatti, the star of Sideways, about his new comedy drama Barney's Version.Donald Sutherland, the star of Don't Look Now and MASH, considers the difference between Hollywood in the 1970s and today.From Andrei Tarkovksy to Sylvester Stallone: Andrei Konchalovsky discusses state censorship, Stalin and Hollywood blockbusters.Lord David Puttnam, Asif Kapadia and Antonia Quirke reveal their final film diaries.

Inspired by stories of listeners staging their own site-specific screenings, Francine Stock tries to set up her own pop-up cinema. Along the way, Francine asks the help of various experts and societies about what you really need to organise a cinematic happening. But of course, what she needs most is a director who's willing to show their film and take part in the event. Will Ken Loach, the new patron of the British Federation Of Film Societies, be her knight in shining armour ?