IT
| Title | A HAPPY DAY |
|---|---|
| Original Title | A HAPPY DAY |
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| Country | Norway |
| Production Year | 2023 |
| Movie Length | 113’ |
| Director | |
| Screenplay | |
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| Director of Photography | |
| Editor | |
| Production Designer | Reinert Kiil |
| Produced by | Hisham Zaman |
| Production | |
| International Distribution | |
| Festival Contact |
A HAPPY DAY
Three teenage friends stuck in a frozen, hopeless place come up with a plan to escape over the mountain to a world where their dreams can be fulfilled. But when one of them falls in love, their plan begins to unravel.
Director's Bio
Director, screenwriter, and producer Hisham Zaman is known for his poignant cinematic style and his focus on the human stories and struggles of migrants and refugees. His films often use the European metropolis as a backdrop for exploring complex themes related to otherness, identity and belonging. He is a graduate of the Norwegian Film School, where he completed his studies in film directing in 2004. Zaman had his international breakthrough with the award-winning short film BAWKE (2005), which screened at Sundance, at Giffoni Film Festival and over 100 other festivals around the world. It was named the best Norwegian short film of the decade by Rushprint magazine in 2010. Zaman also directed the feature films BEFORE SNOWFALL (2013) and LETTER TO THE KING (2014), which both won the Dragon Award for Best Nordic Film, making him the only director in history to win the award two years in a row. BEFORE SNOWFALL also won the award for Best Cinematography at Tribeca and was the most award-winning Norwegian film of 2013. LETTER TO THE KING was one of three films shortlisted for a nomination to the Oscar Awards by the Norwegian Oscar Committee in 2014.
Director's Note
“I was a teenager when I arrived in Norway, and I cannot imagine where I would be today if I had been sent out of the country on my 18th birthday. The characters in A HAPPY DAY are living in a harsh and dystopian universe, but they are also ordinary teenagers who talk about girls, fall in love, and joke around. I wanted to tell their story with lightness and humor, because sometimes a comedic approach to a tragic situation can be just as powerful as a serious one. A HAPPY DAY is neither a documentary nor a political commentary; it is fiction in its truest sense.
In a warm and humorous way, the film comments on a harsh and absurd asylum policy that has become a topic of conversation in Norway and several other European countries. I believe it is important to present the young people affected by this policy on their own terms so that their naïve hopes and desires are conveyed in a dignified way, in contrast to the modern, realistic and cynical world around them.”