Festive Foreign Film Fans

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Let’s face it, the Festive Fans have willingly talked about foreign Christmas movies twice a month for two years.  You might think that is celebration enough, and you would be right.  It definitely should be, but it’s absolutely not.  Because we also need to have an awards show, of course.  It has to be an over-the-top, completely unnecessary, gloriously self-congratulatory event at a local ca...

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We’re sizzling all the way into a Festive Fans milestone moment — it’s our two-year anniversary and we’re inviting you to join the celebration!  

For 50 episodes, we've been traveling the globe and unwrapping the world’s best gifts -- Christmas movies, music, and memories found in so many different places.  We have visited nearly every continent and observed the unique traditions and custo...

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In the waning days of the old year, when the sun turned hot and the wind warm, there came word from the South Country. It was said that the Fellowship of the Festive Fans had a mission in the land of the Middle Earth. A spiritual quest was formed to find the Kiwi Christmas.

Could it be there, not in the cold hearts of the orcs and the trolls, but in the ordinary folk in the country and the citi...

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The Festive Fans take this episode to Ethiopia to answer that age-old question: “Do They Know It’s Christmas?”  Well, yes they do.  In fact, it’s a lot different than what you might imagine.  They like fasting, then eating, then playing a competitive field hockey game played like medieval combat.  It’s an ancient tradition carried on now with neighbor against neighbor or town against town.  Ty...

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Join the Festive Fans for a little Pura Vida Christmas!  Tonight’s country runs on this magical motto.  After two years, we are finally making our way to Central America.  Our first stop?  We visit the beautiful, lush country of Costa Rica.  We promise that everything about it will bring a smile to your face, including our featured film from 2024, Paradise Falls:  A Christmas Story.  It’s a fe...

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The Festive Fans are on spring break, so we are veering off our main road to take  a new scenic route.  Instead of exploring a foreign country this episode, we are setting the way back machine 65 years to a magical time of those grand scale, over the top, larger than life films, with a literal army of extras and actors who don’t just act—they command the screen. We are instantly being transpor...

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It’s time to grab all your ex-husbands and wives, strip down, and head for the sauna as Christmas is about to get messy.  The Festive Fans are traveling to the Christmas capital of the world this episode – Germany!  We are off to the original home to some of our most cherished holiday traditions.  Plus, as an extra bonus, we get to learn a lot about St. Martin (the patron saint of Germany) and...

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A talking dog?  A racing turtle?  Pizza with ashes?  A one-eyed bald man? What does this all have to do with Christmas?  

Find out this episode as we head out to one of the most biodiverse countries in the world to take on the Solar System or the Del Solar System.  From the Andes Mountains to the Amazon Rainforest, it is Christmas Eve in Peru -- a place with a colorful history and a fascinating...

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When a movie is titled “?”, what is it called?  Is it the symbol?  Is it the words “question mark”? Or, is it just the desire for knowledge and answers?  It is this and other questions that Festive Fans encounter on a visit to explore the rich vibrancy of the world’s largest island nation -- Indonesia.  We review a complicated film that has violence, anger, and prejudice, but also displays com...

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The Festive Fans are travelling this episode to a locale that is not known as being either festive or much of a Christmas fan, but it is the cradle of civilization. It is the birthplace of the first laws, written language, rich history and archaeological sites.  It is Iraq -- a country that the U.S. has been fighting for more than three decades.  However, like the mythic Hatfield and McCoy feu...

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The Festive Fans get knocked down by the stunning beauty of Latvia but get up again to enjoy the infectious spirit and irresistible charm of the 2022 film Circenisa Ziemassvetki.  We travel to the Baltic region this episode to explore a place we knew little about beforehand, a fact but that was never going to keep us down.  Latvia is Eastern Europe's best kept little secret -- with its Me...

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2025 kicks off in a big way with a big country. We travel this episode to one of the cradles of civilization.  It’s a place with a rich history and a diverse geography.  Considered to be one of the four exceptional civilizations, it has nearly 18% of the world population, spans the equivalent of five time zones, and borders fourteen countries.  We are exploring the People’s Republic of China! ...

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Live from Crystal Lake, IL, It's Festive Foreign Film Fans!
 
Today's special holiday show is a recording of our first live show at Duke's Alehouse in Crystal Lake, IL.  We want to thank Mike and Rusty from the "Snow in Southtown" podcast for letting us use their Vista Blue song "Crystal Lake"!  It was a great crowd opener and perfect for our host cit...

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For this episode, we travel to the Middle East and the region which today is known as the Palestinian Territory. In the same way that Festive Fans covered Russia and Ukraine last December, we wanted to visit another area in need of hope during this holiday season.  Finding joy during times of war can be deeply challenging.  What is ironic is how the birthplace of the Prince of Peace has seen s...

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During this week of Thanksgiving, we are grateful to learn so much this episode, really, especially for a holiday week.  We are spending our Black Friday just basking in these hard truths.  After a vain search for a Colonial Christmas movie, we really learned what the Pilgrims thought about Yuletime festivities – that they should be banned.  Instead, we decide to travel to another area that is...

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Greece is the word, is the word that you heard

In honor of our good friend Liz Schuh, the Festive Fans visit the homeland and the cradle of Western civilization this episode.  We head to the Greek islands, past Athens and those incredible ancient Acropolis and Parthenon ruins, and onto the sun-drenched beaches, the piercing blue skies, and the balmy Aegean Sea.  When you have stunning Santorini...

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The Festive Fans are getting steamy this episode, but not in the way you might think.  Unless you mean a penis panic.  The boys are off to the balmy island state of Singapore where the Christmas celebrations are full of warm memories, but mostly from the temperature.  This tropical country is over the top in its Yule-themed festivities, from the Orchard Road Street Party to the Christmas Wonde...

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Slovenia is such an unexpected delight for the Festive Fans.  This episode’s movie is full of pleasant surprises – two young and engaging leads; a stunning, baroque cityscape; and an honest and moving story – it has everything any podcaster could ever want.  We laughed, we cried, we cheered, and that was just for our introduction.  If you are looking for a way to launch your holiday season, tr...

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This episode is a wistful look back to an earlier time in the welcoming country of Senegal, known as the “Gateway to Africa”.  We visit this westernmost point on the continent to view the 1994 film Ça Twiste à Poponguine.  The story is set in post-colonial Senegal, right after the tiny nation gained its independence. It is a challenging time for this remote village as it struggles with the  Am...