OVERVIEW

FINDING JOY IS A FEATURE FILM WRITTEN AND DIRECTED BY NEIL DOWLING AND SHOT BY NILS CLAUSS AS A CINEMATOGRAPHER. THE FILM IS SET IN BERLIN, GERMANY, AND SEOUL, SOUTH KOREA. IT FEATURES A REMARKABLE PERFORMANCE FROM GERMAN ACTOR CRISJAN ZÖLLNER AND AN IMPRESSIVE FEATURE FILM DEBUT BY JI-YOUNG MOON IN THE LEAD ROLES. THE FILM RECEIVED IT'S FIRST SCREENING AS A WORK IN PROGRESS AT THE GALWAY FILM FLEADH IN IRELAND IN JULY 2011, AND SINCE THEN IT HAS BEEN SCREENED AT THE JAMESON DUBLIN INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL, THE IRISH FILM INSTITUTE IN DUBLIN AS PART OF THEIR IRELAND ON SUNDAY PROGRAM, THIRD EYE ASIAN FILM FESTIVAL IN MUMBAI AND MOST RECENTLY AT LIVERPOOL LIFT-OFF WHERE IT WON BEST NARRATIVE FEATURE. IT WAS ALSO RECENTLY SHOWN AT LOS ANGELES LIFT-OFF FILM FESTIVAL.

FINDING JOY TELLS THE STORY OF LUKAS (CRISJAN ZÖLLNER), A FRUSTRATED WRITER WHO FEELS TRAPPED BY THE EXPECTATIONS OF HIS AMBITIOUS WIFE BRITA (COSIMA SHAW). THEN HE MEETS JOY, A KOREAN DANCE STUDENT, UNDER STRANGE CIRCUMSTANCES AND SPENDS A WONDERFUL NIGHT WITH HER BEFORE THEY GO THEIR SEPARATE WAYS. LUKAS TRIES TO WORK ON HIS RELATIONSHIP BUT CAN'T QUITE SHAKE THE MEMORY OF HIS ENCOUNTER WITH JOY AND EVENTUALLY DECIDES TO DROP EVERYTHING TO GO AND LOOK FOR HER. HE ARRIVES IN SEOUL WITH NO CONTACT DETAILS FOR HER, ONLY THE VAGUE IDEA THAT HE'LL FIND HER IF IT'S MEANT TO BE. HE BECOMES FRIENDS WITH THE OWNER OF THE CHEAP MOTEL HE STAYS AT AND THE TWO OF THEM GO ON A JOURNEY TOGETHER IN SEARCH OF THE GIRL AND NEW EXPERIENCES. JOY MEANWHILE TRIES TO ADAPT TO LIFE BACK HOME WITH HER PARENTS AFTER THE FREEDOM OF LIVING ALONE IN BERLIN.

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