Overview

FINDING JOY IS A FEATURE FILM WRITTEN AND DIRECTED BY NEIL DOWLING AND SHOT BY NILS CLAUSS AS CINEMATOGRAPHER. THE STORY TAKES PLACE IN BERLIN, GERMANY, AND SEOUL, SOUTH KOREA. IT FEATURES A STRONG PERFORMANCE BY GERMAN ACTOR CRISJAN ZÖLLNER AND AN IMPRESSIVE FEATURE DEBUT FROM JI-YOUNG MOON. THE FILM RECEIVED ITS FIRST WORK-IN-PROGRESS SCREENING AT THE GALWAY FILM FLEADH IN IRELAND IN JULY 2011. AFTER THAT, IT SCREENED AT THE JAMESON DUBLIN INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL, THE IRISH FILM INSTITUTE’S IRELAND ON SUNDAY PROGRAM, THE THIRD EYE ASIAN FILM FESTIVAL IN MUMBAI, AND LIVERPOOL LIFT-OFF, WHERE IT WON BEST NARRATIVE FEATURE. IT ALSO RECENTLY SCREENED AT THE LOS ANGELES LIFT-OFF FILM FESTIVAL.

FINDING JOY FOLLOWS LUKAS (CRISJAN ZÖLLNER), A FRUSTRATED WRITER WHO STRUGGLES WITH THE EXPECTATIONS OF HIS AMBITIOUS WIFE BRITA (COSIMA SHAW). ONE DAY, HE MEETS JOY, A KOREAN DANCE STUDENT, UNDER UNUSUAL CIRCUMSTANCES. THEY SHARE A MEMORABLE NIGHT TOGETHER BEFORE PARTING WAYS. LUKAS TRIES TO FOCUS ON HIS MARRIAGE, BUT HE CANNOT LET GO OF THE MEMORY OF JOY. EVENTUALLY, HE DECIDES TO LEAVE EVERYTHING BEHIND AND TRAVEL TO SEOUL IN SEARCH OF HER.

WHEN HE ARRIVES IN THE CITY, HE HAS NO CONTACT INFORMATION FOR JOY, ONLY THE HOPE THAT HE WILL FIND HER IF IT IS MEANT TO HAPPEN. DURING HIS STAY AT A SMALL MOTEL, HE FORMS A FRIENDSHIP WITH THE OWNER, AND THE TWO BEGIN A JOURNEY TOGETHER THAT LEADS THEM TO NEW EXPERIENCES AND A DIFFERENT VIEW OF LIFE. MEANWHILE, JOY RETURNS TO HER PARENTS’ HOME IN KOREA AND TRIES TO ADJUST AFTER THE FREEDOM SHE EXPERIENCED WHILE LIVING IN BERLIN.

DONALD CLARKE WROTE FOR THE IRISH TIMES: “A FINE, QUIRKY FILM WITH A FUNKY OFFBEAT CHARM ALL ITS OWN.”

CINEMATOGRAPHER, CO-PRODUCER

NILS CLAUSS

PRODUCTION

A CONTENTED PRODUCTION