The Czech feature film "Something like Happiness" has been honored by two awards for best feature film: the Louve d'Or at the 34th International Film Festival in Montreal and the Golden Shell at the 53rd Donostia - San Sebastian International Film Festival.
"Something like Happiness" - an endearing drama suggesting that happiness and fulfillment can come when they are least expected - has been shot entirely with Hawk Anamorphic Lenses.
Bohdan Sláma
Opava (Czech Republic), 1967. After graduating from the Czech Technical University, he studied at the Film Faculty (FAMU) in Prague. His thesis short film, Zahradka raje (Garden of Paradise, 1994), received several awards at international film festivals. His directorial debut, Divoke vcely (Wild Bees), won awards at Rotterdam and San Francisco and was selected as the Czech entry for the Academy Awards in 2002.
Bohdan Sláma (Wild Bees) continues his wry exploration of the search for love and contentment on the sombre fringes of the Czech Republic. Monika, Tonik and Dasha are friends from the same housing project near a huge chemical factory. Good-natured Monika works at a supermarket while awaiting her boyfriend's invitation to America. Tonik -who secretly loves Monika- flees a stifling family for his non-conformist aunt's decaying farmhouse, which she is trying to save from the encroaching factory. Dasha, who has two small children, is dating a married man and slowly losing touch with reality. When she enters a psychiatric ward, Monika and Tonik take in her kids and their lives change for the better.
Sláma delves deeply into the emotional lives of his characters; by filming the picture over a full year, he gives us the chance to see children grow and relationships bloom.
AWARDS Note: The film is in a competition in London and Sao Paulo - up-coming festivals.
