The Happiest Man in the World

• Teona Strugar Mitevska
• 95 min
• North Macedonia, Belgium, Slovenia, Denmark, Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina
• 2022
• Fiction

Two middle-aged Sarajevo residents on a blind date are set on a collision course in a brilliantly stylized depiction of how the war lingers in the people of the formerly besieged city.

40-year-old Asja is single and applies for a matchmaking event at a hotel. There, she is paired with the 43-year-old banker Zoran who, despite his intense gaze, gives the impression of being a shy and withdrawn man. Through trivial conversations about favorite colors and seasons, the date moves forward. But in the conference rooms with their Brutalist-style architecture, with neutral-sounding names like Basel and Zürich, it soon becomes clear that the War is still present and that Zoran is looking for something other than romantic love. Teona Strugar Mitevska is back after the success God Exists, Her Name Is Petrunya (2019) with a sharp and humorous portrayal of the long-term consequences of the War in the Balkans.

- Annie Karlsson

• Drama
• Komedi
• Kärlek
• Krig
• Oscarbidrag