FICTION

Joy

Sudabeh Mortezai
Joy is a young Nigerian woman caught in the vicious cycle of sex trafficking. She works the streets to pay off debts to her exploiter, Madame, while supporting her family in Nigeria and hoping for a better life for her little daughter in Vienna. As Joy struggles to understand her role in this merciless system of exploitation, she is instructed by Madame to supervise Precious, a teenage girl fresh from Nigeria who is not ready to accept her fate.
Technical Data
Running time: 101
Format: digital
Screen ratio: 1:1.85
Language spoken: Pidgin, English, German
Production year: 2018
Credits
Director(s): Sudabeh Mortezai
Writer(s): Sudabeh Mortezai
Cinematography: Klemens Hufnagl
Editing: Oliver Neumann
Key cast: Joy Alphonsus, Precious Sanusi, Angela Ekeleme
Producers: Sabine Moser, Oliver Neumann
Premiere:
September 3, 2018
Venice (Venice Days)
Awards (selection): Hearst Award + Europa Cinemas Label (Venice), Best Film (London BFI Film Festival), Silver Hugo (Chicago), Vienna Film Prize, Best Actress Award for Joy Anwulika Alphonsus (Sevilla), L'Etoile d’or (Marrakech), Max Ophüls Price Best Young Actress for Joy Alphonsus + Max Ophüls Price for socially relevant film (Saarbrücken), Best Actress Award to Joy Alphonsus + Best Costume Design (Graz/Diagonale), Austrian Film Awards: Best Fiction Film + Best Director + Best Actress + Best Script
Production company
FreibeuterFilm GmbH
Turmburggasse 2-8/5/2
1060 Vienna
tel:+43 720 34 65 10
International Sales
Films Boutique
Köpenicker Straße 184
10997 Berlin
tel:+49 30 695 378 50

Sudabeh Mortezai’s JOY to the Lido

The Venice Festival's Giornate degli Autori section will host the world premiere of Sudabeh Mortezai's much-anticipated new film JOY – the story of a young woman from Nigeria caught in the vicious cycle of human trafficking and sexual exploitation.

Sevilla awards Joy for her "masterful interpretation"

Joy Anwulika Alphonsus wins the Best Actress Award at the Sevilla film festival: „ she carries the film through her captivating, open, honest, intelligent and authentic performance. A masterful interpretation of an indomitable drama." concludes the jury. It’s award n° 6 since the Venice premiere for Sudabeh Mortezai’s JOY shortly after winning the Vienna Film Prize 2018.