Director Henrik Ruben Genz received the prestigious Carl Th. Dreyer Award 2009 for his uncompromising formalism in "Terribly Happy". The award was presented today at the DFI Cinematheque in Copenhagen.Awards in Karlovy Vary and Chicago
"Terribly Happy", Genz' third feature film, has already gained wide recognition. The film won the Crystal Globe at its world premiere at Karlovy Vary Film Festival in July and went on to receive the Silver Hugo for Direction in Chicago. This weekend, the Danish Film Academy added to the honours with seven Robert awards, including Best Feature Film. In addition, the film is nominated in four categories in the upcoming Danish Critics Award.Like Peter Schønau Fog's 2007 hit "The Art of Crying", "Terribly Happy" is an adaptation of an Erling Jepsen novel: Robert, a Copenhagen policeman, is transferred to a rural backwater. Though we don't know his background, he clearly considers his new job a sentence to be endured, having a hard time adjusting to small-town life and its social order.Vision of a perfectionist
The award committee was motivated by Genz' ability to "effectively visualise the contrast between hidden, small-town agendas and the grotesque events that unfold. It reveals a black – or rather mud-coloured – humour mirrored in the clear dramatic composition, the saturated colours, and the camera that rises above the narrow streets and flat landscape in minutely staged bird's-eye views. That's how the perfectionist looks upon our imperfect world."
The Carl Th. Dreyer Award includes a cash prize of DKK 50,000 (6,702 euros) and is assigned to "young filmmakers or film professionals who have distinguished themselves within Danish cinema". The award is presented annually by the Carl Th. Dreyer Foundation, whose members include Dan Nissen (Head of DFI Archive and Cinematheque), Peter Schepelern (Senior Lecturer, Copenhagen University) and lawyer Allan Falk.
For further information:
DFI factsheet
Frygtelig lykkelig/ Terribly Happy
Director profile
Henrik Ruben Genz
Overview
Carl Th. Dreyer Awards
Danish Film Institute (DFI)
Dan Nissen, Head of DFI Archive and Cinematheque,
+45 3374 3579, dann@dfi.dk