Happy Place

Samira is 25 and headed towards a bright future – or at least that’s the face she shows the world.  But when Samira attempts suicide, she finds herself at a private treatment centre – where she’ll learn to face herself.

At the centre, Samira meets five other women: sophisticated Celine, ribald Mildred, competitive Joyce, vulnerable Nina, and guarded Rosemary. All so different but with one thing in common: like Samira, they all want to die.  As Samira struggles with the traumatic events that led her to this place, the stories of the other women interweave with her own. Through her interactions with this diverse and kinetic community and her psychiatrist Louise, Samira is pushed in directions she never expected.

Writer

Pamela Mala Sinha

Executive producers

Helen Shaver
Mark Slone

Producers

Elise Cousineau
Andrew Nicholas McCann Smith

Cast

Clark Backo
Marie-Éve Perron
Tara Rosling
Liisa Repo-Martell
Pamela Mala Sinha
Jennifer Wigmore
Karen Glave
Sheila McCarthy
Mary Walsh

Produced by

Jennifer Kawaja
Julia Sereny

Official selection

Cinéfest Sudbury International Film Festival, Canada, 2020
Vancouver International Film Festival, Canada, 2020
Calgary International Film Festival, Canada, 2020
Edmonton International Film Festival, Canada, 2020
St. John’s International Women’s Film Festival, Canada, 2020
Winnipeg Cinematheque, Canada, 2020
Oakville Festivals of Film and Art, Canada, 2020
North Bay Film Festival, Canada, 2020

2021 Canadian Screen Awards

Winner – Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role – Mary Walsh
Nomination – Achievement in Costume Design
Nomination – Achievement in Hair

Images