The new documentary film A Happy Man, directed by Soňa G. Lutherová
Creative collaboration in producing documentary films can also be part of anthropological work, whether expert cooperation or direct creative participation. A senior researcher at our institute, Soňa G. Lutherová, is a visual anthropologist and director of documentary films. Her most current documentary feature film, A Happy Man (Azyl production, HBO MAX, Company F), will have a pre-premiere screening in the Czech documentaries competition at the international documentary film festival One World in Prague, Czech Republic. Our institute is a partner in this project.
A Happy Man follows the story of transgender man Marvin and his Czecho-Slovak family, based in Sweden. The film focuses on the gender transition of the main protagonist through time-lapse storytelling. Film production has taken place since 2018, and it covers four years long period. „In the film, I approach gender transition as a catalyzer of the relationships in the family. The audience will get to question their judgments on how the relationships work. What is the core of the marriage, partnership, or family? The film allows me to reach a wider audience with anthropological knowledge,“ says Soňa G. Lutherová. Her perspective is based on her anthropological research on family relationships and the identity-making process, which she focuses on at the institute.
The film will have a special pre-premiere screening at the One World Festival in Prague. It will be presented in 11 Czech cities. After the screenings in Prague, Brno, and Uherské Hradiště, the film will be followed by a discussion with the creative team, including the director. After that, the film will have a world premiere at another international film festival abroad (more info will follow). The Slovak premiere will take place at the beginning of autumn, and the television premiere will be on HBO MAX.
For more info about the screenings at One World Festival, go to THEIR WEBSITE.
Pictures: the film stills and Michal Stašák.
