The Happiest Man in the World

by Teona Mitevska

Najsrečnejši človek na svetu, orig. Najsreќniot čovek na svetot, 2022, fiction, co-production, digital DCP, 1,85:1, c, 95 min
Finished

MK, BA, BE, HR, DK, SI

Asja, a 40-year-old single woman, lives in Sarajevo. Wanting to meet new people, she ends up spending her Saturday in a speed-dating event. She’s matched with Zoran, a 43-year-old banker. However, Zoran is not looking for love but forgiveness.

screenwriters
Elma Tataragić, Teona Mitevska
director
Teona Mitevska
producer
Labina Mitevska
co-producers
Sebastien Delloye, Danijel Hočevar, Vanja Sremac, Maria Møller Christoffersen, Amra Bakšić Čamo, Adis Đapo
director of photography
Virginie Saint-Martin
film editor
Per K. Kirkegaard
production designer
Vuk Mitevski
costume designer
Monika Lorber
key make-up artist
Mojca Gorogranc Petrushevska
sound designer
Ingrid Simon

featuring
Jelena Kordić, Labina Mitevska, Ana Kostovska, Nikolina Kujača, Adnan Omerović, Izudin Bajrović, Irma Alimanović, Vedrana Božinović, Mona Muratović, Siniša Vidović, Kemal Rizvanović

production
Sisters and Brother Mitevski Production
co-production
Vertigo, SCCA/Pro.Ba Sarajevo - Center for Contemporary Art, Entre Chien et Loup, Frau Film, Terminal 3
in collaboration with
Belga Productions, Belga Films Fund (Tax Shelter), Film Studio Viba Film, Pyramide Films
co-funding
Slovenian Film Centre, North Macedonia Film Agency, Eurimages, Danish Film Institute, Croatian Audiovisual Centre, Sarajevo Film Fund, Ministry of Culture and Sports of Sarajevo Canton
sales
Pyramide International

Vertigo
Danijel Hočevar
info@vertigo.si

Director, screenwriter, and producer Teona Strugar Mitevska (1974, MK) made her debut as a short-film director in 2001 with Veta (Special Jury Award at Berlin FF 2002). Her first feature How I Killed a Saint, which premiered at Rotterdam FF (Tiger Awards 2004), was made under the auspices of Sisters and Brother Mitevski, a company she established together with her brother and sister. I Am From Titov Veles premiered at the 2007 Toronto FF (Discovery Section), and was shown in Berlin FF 2008 (Panorama) and Cannes FF (ACID). The Woman Who Brushed Off Her Tears premiered at 2012 Berlin FF (Panorama Special), and in 2014 she shot and edited Teresa and I, a feature documentary on Mother Teresa, told from the perspective of a contemporary woman of today, namely herself. In 2016, When The Day Had No Name premiered at the 2017 Berlin FF (Panorama Special). God Exists, Her Name Is Petrunya, shot in January 2018, premiered in the Competition Section at Berlin Film Festival 2019, where it was awarded the Ecumenical Prize as well as the German Guild Film Prize. So far the film has received more than 20 awards all around the world and it is this year’s finalist for the European Parliament’s LUX Prize. The film was sold for theatrical release to over 40 territories worldwide.

“What defines us: our ethnicity, religion, gender? What divides us or unites us? This is a story about the precariousness of life, about chance encounters bringing together the aggressor and the victim and reviving the painful past; this is a story of impossible connections, of love and absurdity. The film starts as a humour-driven excursion and develops into a mountain of experiences. The natural rhythm is primordial and it’s tightly connected to the human investigative techniques for seeking truth in the aftermath of violence. I see this film as a symphony of choreographed movements uncovering layers of emotions that slowly entangle the viewer in a dizzying experience. Location is essential: an 80’s-style hotel, a witness to the architectural style of former Yugoslavia: concrete brutalism or modernism; and then there is the injured city of Sarajevo, a testament to open wounds and past pains.”