Le Mur a Des Oreilles (The Wall has ears; conversation for Palestine) have just posted a new, exclusive interview with Roger Waters, talking about his music, the political role of artists and his activism for justice around the world, including in Palestine.

The transcript of the interview can be read through this link (it's a PDF file so will need an appropriate reader - most will be fine but if you need something to read the file, visit adobe.com). You can also hear it on demand, below:

In October, we told you about the screening of Pink Floyd: Live at Pompeii in Montreal, in its newly restored version, along with the bonus of the world premiere of some newly discovered additional interview footage with the band, presented as the 60 minute "Le festin des huîtres" (Chit Chat with Oysters).

"Chit Chat with Oysters is the opposite of Live at Pompeii," summarised director Adrian Maben to the La Presse newspaper. "I shot these pictures with a camera light, just as if it is a family film. We see how the group worked. There are a lot of great, and trivial, conversations. On food. About friendship. On how to avoid conflict in a group. We find a group with a lot of humour. This is the hidden face of Pink Floyd."

On the official website, Adrian talks about the new footage: "In December 1971, Pink Floyd met at the small Europa Sonore studio in Paris to work on the multi track mix of “Live in Pompeii” previously recorded by Charles B. Raucher. Sound effects were added to the original tapes. David Gilmour and Richard Wright overdubbed their voices for Echoes, part I and II. Roger Waters and Nick Mason remained in the control room. In the middle of the day, the roadie Chris Adamson was sent to buy a few dozen oysters and beers at the nearby Brasserie Lorraine. During an improvised lunch the four members of the band answered questions about their music and the schemes they had devised to avoid infighting. They poked fun at the director and at themselves. Their hilarious, off-the-cuff, chit chat was unique because in those days the Floyd rarely talked about themselves to the media. This 16mm black and white film is an authentic portrait of the group as they were a few months before the release of the first version of Live at Pompeii. It’s a miracle that the recently rediscovered rushes are still undamaged. They have never been seen before with the exception of a ten minute sequence previously used for The Director’s Cut. The images were restored and edited with the help and support of the Cinémathèque française."

If you are in or near Paris, France, this weekend, there's a special opportunity to see Chit Chat with Oysters tomorrow. You need to head for the Cinémathèque française on Sunday (December 8th) for the screening at 7pm. Adrian himself will be presenting the footage, and more details of the event, the venue, and ticket purchasing can be found at www.cinematheque.fr.

At a public lecture at Birmingham City University on Wednesday, December 11th, BAFTA award-winning film director Ian Emes, will reveal how some of the biggest names in rock and pop – including Pink Floyd – became his muse. In his talk, Ian will revisit the heady period of the 1970s, which was when he first heard a friend play a Pink Floyd record that then inspired him to create a short film – a project that would transform his life.

'Shooting the Moon' is the title of Ian's talk. He will be speaking at CityTalks, a FREE series of public forums, and it takes place on Wednesday from 6.30pm to 8.30pm, at the University's Parkside Building (part of the City Centre Campus). To register for this free talk visit bcucitytalks.eventbrite.co.uk.

Following the lecture there will be an opportunity to view Ian's 'Time' exhibition. Ian was the first student to study animation at the School of Art, now part of Birmingham City University and within a year of graduating became part of the band's entourage and directed their first animated concert film for The Dark Side of the Moon album (1974), which included the legendary Time sequence. "It was the 1970s. A revolutionary period when anything seemed possible if you had a passion for what you did," said Emes, who went on to work with Paul and Linda McCartney, Mike Oldfield and Duran Duran.

"I hope this lecture and my exhibition will inspire another generation of artists to remain loyal to their passions - and to free themselves from the information overload we have in the modern world. Ian added: “My lecture will be a reflection on the making of the animated film for ‘The Dark Side Of The Moon’, the experiments and discoveries that sprang from the process and how they are applied to new projects.”

The exhibition runs until Friday, January 17th.

The Broadway version of "The Wall", which has been in development for quite some time now, seems to be getting closer to being realised. Written in part with "Billy Elliot" playwright Lee Hall, Roger's theatrical take on the piece seems to be progressing now that the concert tour of the album has concluded.

Back in June 2012, Boston.com followed up on things to see what the situation was then. Roger: "I did meet [Lee] the last time we were in New York and we had a great dinner together, and he came to the London shows and he's still very enthusiastic and so am I, so I'm sure it's something that will happen, and I think the success of [the North American] arena and ballpark shows can only help the momentum of making something for Broadway." Earlier that year, in January, he told US radio presenter Howard Stern that the book for the production was then on draft number five, and expressed his keenness that it would happen one day.

On NPR.org this week, there's a piece about Roger's use of religious symbolism in his Wall concerts, but at the conclusion of the report, there's a small but significant update. They note that "the Broadway musical version... begins workshops in January". We suspect then that the script is getting closer to a final working version, so for those eager to see just how The Wall will work in this context, with the changes (including humour) that Roger has promised, it might not be quite so long to wait now... Our thanks to Phil Beckett for his help with this story.