ALMATY INDIE FILM FESTIVAL
Happy Today
Overview
In the shadow of Mount Oret in Acholi Land, Northern Uganda, Patricia studies to be a midwife. She helps new mothers through the physical pain and immense emotion of giving birth. In Kalongo, this remote village, there is no anesthesia except for the comforting tones of a midwife’s voice and the soft reassurance of her company.
Watch trailer
Director Biography — Giulio Tonincelli
Giulio Tonincelli is an independent filmmaker and programmer at Orvieto Cinema Fest. He realizes projects with several NGOs traveling through the Middle East, India, Latin America and Africa, approaching and discovering the cinema of real. In 2018 he attends the Documentary Summer School at the Locarno Film Festival. His latest short documentary Happy Today has been selected in over 40 festivals including Oscar Qualifying such a ShortShorts in Japan, Odense in Denmark, Palm Springs and Rhode Island in United States.
Director Statement
I left for Uganda with the idea of documenting women's rights in terms of health and education, affirming the dignity of women and of the possibility to give birth in a safe environment, telling the story through the eyes of a midwife. Upon arrival in Kalongo I met several students of the Midwifery School and I began following them right away, getting more and more familiar with them each day. It took only a few moments to realize that Patricia, the protagonist of Happy Today, with her spontaneity and her sweetness, managed to embody and convey the sense of being a midwife. So I decided to focus on her, telling her story through everyday rituals.
Uganda is among the countries with the highest maternal and infant mortality, and one reason is inherent in African culture that wants the strong woman give birth alone, without assistance.
In the life of almost every African woman there is a story of childbirth lived as a traumatic experience. Digging deep into the past of Patricia, as in that of so many other girls, I found moments of extreme suffering that form and reinforce their faith in life. Hence the belief that helping others can, in some way, uproot their pain.
Following this story, I finally found myself in front of humanity and the purest love. Surrounded by the spectacle that nature generates unconditionally with overwhelming force and freedom, continually, relegating congenital complexities of places and social contexts.
Credits
- Director
- Giulio Tonincelli
- Producer
- Luca Cabriolu
Specifications
- Project type
- Documentary, Short
- Genres
- Bio, Drama
- Runtime
- 17 minutes 25 seconds
- Completion date
- January 1, 2018
- Production budget
- 2,000 EUR
- Country of origin
- Italy
- Countries of filming
- Uganda
- Language
- English
- Shooting format
- Digital HD
- Aspect ratio
- 16:9
- Film color
- Color
- First-time filmmaker
- No
- Student project
- No
- Digital Cinema Package
- Unavailable
Awards & Festivals
Short Shorts Film Festival & Asia
Tokyo
Japan
June 11, 2019
Asia Premiere
Official Selection
Palm Spring International Short Film Festival
Palm Spring
United States
June 22, 2018
North America Premiere
Official selection
OFF - Odense International Film Festival
Odense
Denmark
August 30, 2018
Denmark Premiere
Official selection
Moscow International Documentary Film Festival DOKer
Moscow
Russian Federation
April 16, 2018
Russia premiere
Official selection
Rhode Island International Film Festival
Providence
United States
August 10, 2018
Official selection
Filmfest Dresden - International short film festival
Dresden
Germany
April 17, 2018
Germany Premiere
David di Donatello
Roma
Italy
Official Selection 2019
Athena Film Festival
New York City
United States
March 1, 2019
Official selection
START International Short Film Festival
Baku
Azerbaijan
November 15, 2018
Azerbaijan premiere
Best Documentary Director
MakeDox Festival
Skopje
Macedonia, the former Yugoslav Republic of
August 20, 2018
Macedonia Premiere
Cronograf
Chișinău
Moldova, Republic of
May 25, 2019
Moldova Premiere
Special Mention
Off-Courts
Trouville
France
September 10, 2018
Official selection
Ischia International Film Festival
Ischia
Italy
June 2, 2018
Italy Premiere
Denied Location Award
TiSFF Thess International Short Film Fest
Thessaloniki
Greece
October 20, 2018
Greece premiere
Official selection
SoleLuna Doc Film Festival - Treviso
Treviso
Italy
September 15, 2018
"Rubino Rubini" Award
Magma International Short Film Festival
Acireale
Italy
November 30, 2018
"Lorenzo Vecchio" Award
Lago Film Fest
Treviso
Italy
July 22, 2018
Official selection
Corto Dorico
Ancona
Italy
December 1, 2018
Concorto
Piacenza
Italy
August 21, 2018
Focus Africa
Sedicicorto
Forlì
Italy
October 2, 2018
Official selection
SoleLuna Doc Film Festival - Palermo
Palermo
Italy
July 5, 2018
Official selection
Ortigia Film Festival
Siracusa
Italy
July 13, 2018
Official selection
Cisterna Film Fest
Latina
Italy
July 22, 2018
Official selection
Skepto
Cagliari
Italy
April 5, 2019
Special Mention
Lucca Film Festival
Lucca
Italy
April 15, 2019
Official Selection
Stuttgarter FilmWinter
Stuttgart
Germany
January 18, 2019
Arc Film Festival
Mainz
Germany
April 25, 2019
LISFE Leiden
Leiden
Netherlands
May 11, 2019
Netherlands Premiere
Official Selection
Roma Tre Film Festival
Rome
Italy
May 11, 2019
FICAE - Festival Internacional de Cortometrajes y Arte sobre Enfermedades
Valencia
Spain
March 3, 2018
Spain premiere
Official selection