#5 THE HAPPIEST GIRL IN THE WORLD (D: Radu Jude, PROD: Ada Solomon, 99 min, R, 2009)

We’re thrilled to share our talk with Radu Jude and Ada Solomon, both winners of the Golden Bear 2021. The director/producer duo from Romania will give us insights in the making of THE HAPPIEST GIRL IN THE WORLD, Radu Jude’s feature film debut.

The interview was conducted online on the 15.04.2021.

Synopsis:
“Delia, a young Romanian girl, comes to Bucharest with her parents to collect a prize she has won in a contest organized by a soft-drinks company. The prize is a beautiful new car. All Delia has to do now is appear in front of the camera in a commercial. All goes well until it becomes clear that Delia and her parents have very different ideas about what to do with the new car. Meanwhile, the contest's sponsor needs a radiant prize-winner with a gleaming smile. A wicked satire and a psychological portrait of a society perverted by its slavery to capitalism and consumerism.”

About the filmmakers:
Radu Jude was born in Bucharest, Romania in 1977. He has a degree in film from the city’s Media University. He began his career as an assistant director before making his first short, The Tube with the Hat, in 2006. His feature debut, THE HAPPIEST GIRL IN THE WORLD, screened in the 2009 Forum and garnered worldwide attention. He won the Silver Bear for Best Director at the 2015 Berlinale with AFERIM!. In 2017, Locarno screened his first documentary: THE DEAD NATION. His next documentary, THE EXIT OF THE TRAINS, premiered in the 2020 Forum. His film UPPERCASE PRINT mixes fiction with documentary and theatre methods and premiered in the 2020 Forum as well. His latest film, BAD LUCK BANGING OR LOONY PORN won the Golden Bear in Berlin in 2021. Here is a cinematic self portrait he shot.

Ada Solomon was born on June 3, 1968 in Bucharest, Romania. She is the founder of Hi Film Productions and Micro Film. Her credits include BAD LUCK BANGING OR LOONY PORN (Radu Jude, 2021, Golden Bear Berlin), I DO NOT CARE IF WE GO DOWN IN HISTORY AS BARBARIANS (Radu Jude, 2018, Grand Prix Crystal Globe in Karlovy Vary IFF), AFERIM! (Radu Jude, 2015, Silver Bear Berlin) and CHILD’S POSE (Calin Peter Netzer, 2013, Golden Bear Berlin). She has worked with most promising filmmakers from Romania, from Cristian Nemescu to Ivana Mladenovic, from Alexandru Solomon and Răzvan Rădulescu to Adrian Sitaru and Paul Negoescu - to name just a few. Ada has co-produced with over 15 European countries and has released her films in over 50 territories. She has been in charge of production services for projects such as Franco Zeffirelli’s CALLAS FOREVER and Maren Ade’s Oscar-nominated TONI ERDMANN. She is the Executive President of the European Women’s Audiovisual Network, the Deputy Chairwoman of the European Film Academy Board.

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