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= 42 Seconds of Happiness (2016 film) = 42 Seconds of Happiness is a 2016 American drama film written and directed by Christina Kallas and produced by Allison Vanore. The film was shot on location in Farmingdale, NJ and in New York, NY.

Plot
A circle of 30-something year old friends reunite for a weekend away. Despite their best efforts to behave themselves, a series of surprise plans, unexpected arrivals and exposed secrets lead to an explosion of drama that cannot be contained.

Affected by the on-going custody battle between Alis and Tomas over their daughter Sam, Tomas' sister, Maria, invites their group of friends for a weekend away under the guise of her wedding to Cybil. Little do they know that a hurricane is coming (literally and figuratively). Maria has planned an intervention with Tomas and Alis but Alis arrives with her new married boyfriend, Marc. Felice and Ike try to maintain their "perfect couple" status. Ben flirts with Cybil causing Tomas to attack Ben with inappropriate questions and accusations. Vineke tries to maintain her composure until Tomas lights an emotional spark. Alis and Tomas refuse to agree on anything and as emotions explode, Marc's unstable wife, Sila, arrives with a surprise for them all. Will Tomas and Alis' drama tear apart the shaky relationships around them?

Cast
Becca Ayers

Vandit Bhatt

Catherine Cobb Ryan

John J. Concado

Robert Z Grant

Margaret Kelly Murphy

Laura Pruden

Toni Robison-May

Lauren Sowa

Chris Veteri

Director's Notes
In my films I experiment with narrative form, multi-protagonist, sometimes nonlinear structures, in an effort to allow, emulate an experience that is as close to experiencing reality as one can get. The workshopping part of the process and the naturalistic performances are important in that sense, as is the choice of camera work or the multilayered soundtracks or indeed my experimental use of split screens. The most important element however, is how the narrative is structured: I see it much like when we join a party as a guest and need time to orientate ourselves to how everything and everyone are connected and then suddenly, after witnessing a key moment, we understand more and retrospectively what we have experienced and why we have experienced it that way. I am intrigued by how cinematic narrative is evolving beyond the traditional story format, and how it influences the way we perceive reality. What I am interested in, frankly, is what’s beyond, above and underneath what we call reality.

In 42 Seconds of Happiness I attempt a genre shift (that has worked really well in test previews) while the story evolves from a light comedy about the trials and tribulations of romantic love and the pitfalls of married life, and gradually turns into something much darker about the emotional impact of divorce on everyone involved - something we rarely talk about, other than as a financial disaster or how bad it is for the children. So I’d love to get the conversation going, especially now when marriage is receiving such a romantic glow again because of gay marriage - I do not dare to think how acute the topic will be once these marriages start facing the inherent crisis. Will the same-sex couples behave more maturely? I certainly hope so. With this and my second film, which we have just finished shooting, I am pushing the envelope on a combination of scripted and improv, on nonlinear, multi-protagonist and what I consider a strongly female perception of reality. I am also and primarily a guerilla filmmaker working on purpose with extremely low budgets. 42 Seconds of Happiness is my debut feature as a director and while I am editing my sophomore feature I am working with my actors on my third one to be shot at the end of this year, Paris Is In Harlem. Before I moved to NY and started directing in this strictly actor-centered way, I made seven feature films as a writer and producer in Europe with high budgets and big name actors like John Hurt, Armin Mueller-Stahl et al., which were all in competition in festivals like Berlin, Toronto etc. My decision to go very low budget as a director has to do with the way I am working which allows me to workshop my screenplays for about 1,5 years in advance, in an effort to merge character and actor, so create a real world which I then enter to film almost like a documentary - although it is scripted. This is not a way of working that can fit into the existing funding system, since I never lock the screenplay, but allows me to focus on the actors and redefine the classic concepts of casting and screenwriting.

Last but not least I am aiming at a very fast pace, building suspense constantly without blowing things up, through a puzzle of personal, emotional human moments. Which, given the fact that the film has a multitude of characters, a very precise, complex script structure and a strong improvisational tone in the performances, almost as if it were a documentary, should allow for several emotional entry points.

Production
Production companies are Alliecine and Writers Improv Group.

Distribution
Distributed worldwide by Indie Rights.

Festival & Award History
Women Texas Film Festival (2016) - Best Feature Film

Harlem International Film Festival (2016) - Best Cast Ensemble

Princeton Independent Film Festival (2016) - Indie Spirit Award, Best Cast Ensemble

NYC Greek Film Festival (2016)

Orlando Film Festival (2016)

St. Louis International Film Festival (2016) – nominated for Emerging Director Award

Thessaloniki Film Festival (2016) (Greece) – nominated for FIPRESCI Award

Jaipur International Film Festival (2017) (India) – Best American Film

Berlin Underground (2017) (Germany) – nominated for the Exberliner Award

Vero Beach Wine & Film Festival (2017)

SVOD / VOD/ Home Entertainment / Streaming
October 31, 2017 Amazon Prime