Friday night - the Q&A of the opening film "H is for happiness" is over and the audience is swarming out of the cinema, crowding around the blue photo wall to get an autograph or photo of the two talents or to just enjoy the cheerful atmosphere. In the middle of excited kids and cameras Anna and I - waiting to meet the cast and director of the film for a short interview. Finally we discover the people we are looking for and are led to director John Sheedy, who takes a little time for us.
fGR: "Congratulations to the movie. How was is for you to be the opening film of Berlinale’s Generation?"
John Sheedy: "It is such a great honour to be the opening film. We love the Berlin film-festival and I always wanted the film to be part of it, so I thought it would fit in nice in this section. It’s my first time at the Berlinale and then to be told that we are the opening was even more exciting."
fGR: "We enjoyed the landscape and nature very much. Did you know from the beginning where you wanted to shoot or was it difficult to find such a place?"
JS: "I always wanted the little sea sided town to be geographically non specific, so I like the idea that it could be picked up and placed anywhere in the world to reach an universal audience. Western Australia has some really amazing coast lines and little hidden towns, so we went on a trip for a few weeks looking for a perfect place. What I loved about Albany was that it has these beautiful boulders coming out of the ocean, the landscape and architectures same to have these timelessness and a charm. That is why it seemed to be the perfect place for me."
FGR: "Where there problems with the wild fires in Australia while you were shooting the movie?"
JS: "We filmed this about one and a half year ago, so it was before the fires. Australia suffers big fires every year in summer, but this is certainly been the worst of it for us. It says a lot about climate change and i hope what is happened in these recent fires and the effects its had sent out a big message out to the world about its really important that we must pay attention in climate change, there's no denying about that anymore!"
Of course, we agree with that completely and continue talking about the climate situation in Australia and around the world. We end up coming to the conclusion that films like "H is for happiness", which are showing such a unique nature, should be seen as an appeal to really take action now - so that we still have those landscapes in the future. But to get back to topic, we ask about the future of the film.
fGR: "How was your journey with "H is for Happiness"? Will the film be shown in other countries around the world?"
JS: "Yes, first it will go to the Malmø-filmfestival, then to Melbourne and of course other places in Australia, also to Jeddah in Saudi Arabia and to Chicago in America - so its got quite a festival tour. Its been a great journey until now, its been a great film to work on. Its a film that has a fine balance of humour and sympathy, whilst we’re able to laugh and celebrate diversity and difference in people it also shows difficult moments and young people suffer from that. But its important because we sit in that difficult mindnesses, but we can step out and celebrate life as well, and thats what I love about this film."
We think those words are a beautiful summary and thank John Sheedy for his time. The young talents Daisy Axon and Wesley Patten also finished writing autographs and are open for a few questions.
fGR: "Congratulations also to you for this inspiring film. It is based on a book - did you read it before you were shooting the film?"
Daisy: "I’ve read the book before, so I knew a lot about what Candice's world was about, but they’ve changed a few things from the book. For me it has been very special because my sister handed down the book to me and then I read it, and afterwards came the movie. It was literally my favourite book in primary school and I pictured myself while reading it. After I finished it I laid it down for a few months, and then suddenly the audition came up."
fGR: "So you went for the audition?"
Daisy: "First I did self takes at home and afterwards I got to a few auditions. My last one was in Sydney, there I met Wesley - and a few weeks later we found out we would do the acting."
fGR: "And how was you journey to the movie, Wesley?"
Wesley: "I actually never read the book. I don’t even knew there was a book before so I was actually surprised when I found out. But now I have the book at home and I start reading it. After I knew I would be Douglas I got the script and read it. I had an acting coach and she told us ways of saying words like our characters would do it. She also told us to listen to songs and stuff to get into the character."
fGR: "The language both of you had to speak in the movie is a quite technical language, was it diffucult to learn the script and pronouncing the words?"
Wesley: "I had to learn a lot of science stuff. I found it hard at first but then i catched up a little help and I did researching on the internet. And it was fun too, I learned a lot from that."
Daisy: "The way Candice’s sentences are, are quit tricky, so it took a time to practise them and I had to make beats between them to remember everything. But it’s about to apreciate so I don’t think you should change it."
fGR: "Was it your first time on set? How does it feel to see the film now on such a big screen?"
Wesley: "It’s the second film for both of us. My first film was a short film so it wasn’t as much filming as it was now, it took about two weeks and this one was much longer. To see yourself up there now is pretty cringy, to be honest."
Daisy: "Yes, its just weird. But it’s cool to see so many people from different countries, we saw Australias audience, but its so nice to come to Berlin, a great place we’ve never been before."
Then we chat a little bit about Berlin and the snowless winter here, before they have to leave. We thank and say goodbye to Daisy and Wesley, who we will remember as open-minded and really warm young people.
fGR: "Congratulations to the movie. How was is for you to be the opening film of Berlinale’s Generation?"
John Sheedy: "It is such a great honour to be the opening film. We love the Berlin film-festival and I always wanted the film to be part of it, so I thought it would fit in nice in this section. It’s my first time at the Berlinale and then to be told that we are the opening was even more exciting."
fGR: "We enjoyed the landscape and nature very much. Did you know from the beginning where you wanted to shoot or was it difficult to find such a place?"
JS: "I always wanted the little sea sided town to be geographically non specific, so I like the idea that it could be picked up and placed anywhere in the world to reach an universal audience. Western Australia has some really amazing coast lines and little hidden towns, so we went on a trip for a few weeks looking for a perfect place. What I loved about Albany was that it has these beautiful boulders coming out of the ocean, the landscape and architectures same to have these timelessness and a charm. That is why it seemed to be the perfect place for me."
FGR: "Where there problems with the wild fires in Australia while you were shooting the movie?"
JS: "We filmed this about one and a half year ago, so it was before the fires. Australia suffers big fires every year in summer, but this is certainly been the worst of it for us. It says a lot about climate change and i hope what is happened in these recent fires and the effects its had sent out a big message out to the world about its really important that we must pay attention in climate change, there's no denying about that anymore!"
Of course, we agree with that completely and continue talking about the climate situation in Australia and around the world. We end up coming to the conclusion that films like "H is for happiness", which are showing such a unique nature, should be seen as an appeal to really take action now - so that we still have those landscapes in the future. But to get back to topic, we ask about the future of the film.
fGR: "How was your journey with "H is for Happiness"? Will the film be shown in other countries around the world?"
JS: "Yes, first it will go to the Malmø-filmfestival, then to Melbourne and of course other places in Australia, also to Jeddah in Saudi Arabia and to Chicago in America - so its got quite a festival tour. Its been a great journey until now, its been a great film to work on. Its a film that has a fine balance of humour and sympathy, whilst we’re able to laugh and celebrate diversity and difference in people it also shows difficult moments and young people suffer from that. But its important because we sit in that difficult mindnesses, but we can step out and celebrate life as well, and thats what I love about this film."
We think those words are a beautiful summary and thank John Sheedy for his time. The young talents Daisy Axon and Wesley Patten also finished writing autographs and are open for a few questions.
fGR: "Congratulations also to you for this inspiring film. It is based on a book - did you read it before you were shooting the film?"
Daisy: "I’ve read the book before, so I knew a lot about what Candice's world was about, but they’ve changed a few things from the book. For me it has been very special because my sister handed down the book to me and then I read it, and afterwards came the movie. It was literally my favourite book in primary school and I pictured myself while reading it. After I finished it I laid it down for a few months, and then suddenly the audition came up."
fGR: "So you went for the audition?"
Daisy: "First I did self takes at home and afterwards I got to a few auditions. My last one was in Sydney, there I met Wesley - and a few weeks later we found out we would do the acting."
fGR: "And how was you journey to the movie, Wesley?"
Wesley: "I actually never read the book. I don’t even knew there was a book before so I was actually surprised when I found out. But now I have the book at home and I start reading it. After I knew I would be Douglas I got the script and read it. I had an acting coach and she told us ways of saying words like our characters would do it. She also told us to listen to songs and stuff to get into the character."
fGR: "The language both of you had to speak in the movie is a quite technical language, was it diffucult to learn the script and pronouncing the words?"
Wesley: "I had to learn a lot of science stuff. I found it hard at first but then i catched up a little help and I did researching on the internet. And it was fun too, I learned a lot from that."
Daisy: "The way Candice’s sentences are, are quit tricky, so it took a time to practise them and I had to make beats between them to remember everything. But it’s about to apreciate so I don’t think you should change it."
fGR: "Was it your first time on set? How does it feel to see the film now on such a big screen?"
Wesley: "It’s the second film for both of us. My first film was a short film so it wasn’t as much filming as it was now, it took about two weeks and this one was much longer. To see yourself up there now is pretty cringy, to be honest."
Daisy: "Yes, its just weird. But it’s cool to see so many people from different countries, we saw Australias audience, but its so nice to come to Berlin, a great place we’ve never been before."
Then we chat a little bit about Berlin and the snowless winter here, before they have to leave. We thank and say goodbye to Daisy and Wesley, who we will remember as open-minded and really warm young people.
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