News from the North

Happy Happy

1 hr. 25 min. | Drama | N/A

A comedy about infidelity, moose meat, white and coal-black lies, adultery and slaves. Family is the most important thing in the world to Kaja. She is an eternal optimist in spite of living with a man who would rather go hunting with the boys, and who refuses to have sex with her because she “isn't particularly attractive” anymore. Whatever. That's life. But when “the perfect couple” moves in next door, Kaja struggles to keep her emotions in check. Not only do these successful, beautiful, exciting people sing in a choir; they have also adopted a child – from Ethiopia! These new neighbors open a new world to Kaja, with consequences for everyone involved. And when Christmas comes around, it becomes evident that nothing will ever be like before – even if Kaja tries her very best. “I wanted to tell the story of an insistently happy person. No matter how hopeless and tragic the world may be, she smiles. Kaia lives through others, wants to be like everyone else, maybe for want of individual foundations. Her driving force becomes happiness; she’s made joy her survival strategy”,  says Anne Sewitsky.

Anne Sewitsky

Anne Sewitsky

Anne Sewitsky (b.1977) studied directing at the Norwegian Film School, graduating in 2006. She has later worked for the drama division of the Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation (NRK). Here, her roles included: scriptwriter and consultant on a full-length film project, scriptwriter for an episode of the drama series Himmelblå, as well as director of four episodes in the same series. She has worked as a script developer at Tordenfilm. She has directed short film Oh, My God! Happy, happy is her first feature film.
Languages
Norwegian
Subtitles
Lithuanian, English
Original title
Sykt lykkelig
Produced
2010: Norway

Film information

Director
Anne Sewitsky
Screenplay
Ragnhild Tronvolls
Music
Gunn Tove Grønsberg
Cinematography
Anna Myking
Cast
Agnes Kittelsen, Henrik Rafaelsen, Maibritt Saerens, Joachim Rafaelsen
More information
www.imdb.com
Festival experience toolkit by