Baltic Event Co-Production Market

My Happy Family

Country
France, Turkey
Language
Turkish
Genre
drama, youth film, psychological drama
Project Status
Development
Logline

An 11-year-old boy secretly sets out to make a movie by capturing rare moments of joy in his abusive family as part of a school project to impress the girl he loves.

Synopsis

Azat (11) wants to film his dysfunctional family for a school project to impress his crush. Ignoring his mother Beren's protests, he forges her signature to proceed. After his parents' divorce, Azat's grandfather, Bahadir, becomes his only male role model and collaborator on the project. But Bahadir is soon hospitalized. Azat enlists his estranged aunt Melike to continue filming. Beren discovers Azat's deception and physically assaults him. Azat captures this on film and, accepting his loneliness, submits the footage as his final school project.

Keywords: coming of age, abuse, film-in-film

More info about the project

Director's note:
"My Happy Family" uses a dual visual style to distinguish between the contrasting worlds of family and school. The family scenes, set in the grandfather's house and the hospital, use low-key lighting to create a claustrophobic atmosphere, emphasizing the characters' feelings of confinement. In contrast, the school scenes feature bright, overexposed and desaturated colours with natural lighting, symbolizing the freedom of the protagonist, Azat. Close-ups and crowded frame compositions reinforce the family's oppressive environment, while steadicam shots at school follow Azat's journey toward liberation. Costume and set design reflect the characters' emotions and social status, using matte colours and symbolic tones: blue for Azat's dreams, brown and grey for Bahadır's resignation, purple for Melike's sadness, and red for Beren's anger. Finally, the editing varies to match Azat's emotional states, using long shots for quiet moments and quick cuts for tension.

Producer's note:
"My Happy Family is a compelling narrative that delves deeply into the resilience of youth amidst domestic challenges. This feature film will resonate with two key audiences: young adults and families, especially those who appreciate films that address serious social issues with sensitivity and hope. Because of the film's emotional depth and universal themes, we expect it to stronglyappeal to these groups, providing both insight and inspiration.
"My Happy Family" received production support from the Turkish Ministry of Culture and presale from Turkish TV TRT. We have also applied to the national film funds of Romania and France with our co-producers in those countries. We are still looking for other countries for the co-production. We have previously participated in several co-production markets across the Balkans. However, the Baltic Event represents the exciting region with whom we would like to create our co-operation for co-production.

Original title
Benim Mutlu Ailem
Budget
702000 €
Financed
217000 €
Looking for
co-producers, distributors, foreign broadcasters, gap-financing, post-production services, private funds / banks, public funds (national, regional, international), sales agent, streamers, technical participation
Duration
95
Producer
Olena Yershova
Director, Screenwriter
Alkım Özmen
Contact name
Olena Yershova
Contact email
olena@tatofilm.com
Contact web
https://tatofilm.com
TatoFilm

About: TatoFilm (TR/UA) was founded in 2011 by Olena Yershova as a boutique production company for emotionally deep stories. TatoFilm has already produced ten feature long and four feature documentaries that gathered more than 250 awards. Filmography: Anatolian Leopard (2021) https://www.imdb.com/title/tt11426664/?ref_=nm_knf_c_1 Brighton 4th https://www.imdb.com/title/tt7530340/?ref_=nm_flmg_c_2_prd Frost 2017 https://www.imdb.com/title/tt6464290/?ref_=nm_flmg_c_7_prd

Meraklı Hayalperver

About: Meraklı Hayalperver (Curious Dreamer) is a production company founded by Alkim Ozmen to produce his auteur films. The company has produced three short films. ‘My Happy Family’ will be the first feature film project of the company. Filmography: In Search of Dad One Night (2022) https://www.imdb.com/title/tt10865400/?ref_=nm_flmg_t_1_dr Story of a Job Interview (2017) https://www.imdb.com/title/tt13886066/?ref_=nm_flmg_t_3_dr

Contact email successfully changed
The wanted email is in use in your profile
The wanted email is in use by another user
New alias added successfully
New alias is already in your list
New alias connection failed