Asja, a 40-year-old single woman living in Sarajevo, is looking for love. Trying out intensive methods to meet new people and encouraged by her mother, she joins a speed dating event, where she is matched with Zoran, a 43-year-old banker. But despite their seemingly successful pairing, their haunting past returns to prove that the two of them were once found on opposite battlefields and that Zoran is in search of redemption rather than a romantic affair. Armed with a brilliant cast of characters and a penetrating script, this visually arresting investigation into the continuation of life in the aftermath of war, manages to present the devastating history of the Balkans in a contained, complex fashion; but most of all, the film delivers a captivating, eternal message about the soul power released through the unearthing of buried feelings.
The Happiest Man in the World
Najsreќniot Čovek na Svetot
63rd TIFF: Greek Premiere
Screening Schedule
No physical screenings scheduled. |
- Direction: Teona Strugar Mitevska
- Script: Elma Tataragić, Teona Strugar Mitevska
- Cinematography: Virginie Saint Martin
- Editing: Per K. Kirkegaard
- Sound: Kristoffer Salting, Ingrid Simon, Viktor Grabar
- Actors: Jelena Kordić Kuret, Adnan Omerović, Labina Mitevska, Ana Kostovska, Ksenija Marinković, Izudin Bajrović, Irma Alimanović, Vedrana Božinović, Mona Muratović, Nikolina Kujača, Siniša Vidović, Kemal Rizvanović
- Production: Sisters and Brother Mitevski, Entre Chien et Loup, Vertigo, Frau film, Terminal 3, Scca/pro.ba
- Producers: Labina Mitevska, Sébastien Delloye, Danijel Hočevar, Vanja Sremac, Maria Møller Christoffersen, Amra Bakšić Čamo, Adis Đapo
- Co-production: Belga Productions
- Costumes: Monika Lorber
- Production Design: Vuk Mitevski
- Make Up: Mojca Gorogranc Petrushevska
- Format: DCP
- Color: Color
- Production Country: North Macedonia, Belgium, Slovenia, Denmark, Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina
- Production Year: 2022
- Duration: 96΄
- Contact: Pyramide International
Teona Strugar Mitevska
Born in North Macedonia, director Teona Strugar Mitevska started as a child actor, trained as a painter and graphic designer and studied film at NYU-Tisch School of Arts. She directed her first short, Veta, in 2001, and has been making films ever since: How I Killed a Saint, 2004; I am from Titov Veles, 2007; The Woman Who Brushed Off Her Tears, 2012; Teresa and I, 2013; When the Day Had No Name, 2017, and most recently, God Exists, Her Name Is Petrunya. The film premiered in competition in Berlin Film Festival 2019, where it was awarded the Ecumenical Prize, as well at the German Guild Film Prize. To this day, the film has received more than 30 awards internationally, most notably the 2019 LUX Prize by the European Parliament, and was sold for theatrical release to over 40 territories worldwide. In 2018, France's Ministry of Culture awarded her the Chevalier de l'Ordre des Arts et des Letters. She is currently in pre-production of Mother, her first English-language film. Teona Strugar Mitevska lives between Skopje and Brussels with her son.
Filmography
2001 Veta (short)
2004 How I Killed a Saint
2007 I am from Titov Veles
2012 The Woman Who Brushed Off Her Tears
2017 When the Day Had No Name
2019 God Exists, Her Name is Petrunya
2022 The Happiest Man in the World
2023 21 Days Until the End of the World
2004 How I Killed a Saint
2007 I am from Titov Veles
2012 The Woman Who Brushed Off Her Tears
2017 When the Day Had No Name
2019 God Exists, Her Name is Petrunya
2022 The Happiest Man in the World
2023 21 Days Until the End of the World
