EXCLUSIVE: Screen can reveal the first trailer for Jan-Eric Mack’s A Happy Family ahead of its world premiere in the Crystal Globe competition at Karlovy Vary International Film Festival next month.

A Happy Family is the first Swiss production ever to compete in the festival’s main competition section. Bendita Film Sales handles world sales, with DCM Film Distribution releasing in Switzerland in January 2027.

The film follows Niki, a woman with two children and no money. After a fire turns her life upside down, her children are placed in foster care. Banned from contact, she assumes a new identity, risking everything to stay close to them.

Anna Schinz leads the cast, alongside Julia Jentsch, Bettina Stucky, Michael Neuenschwander, and Martina Apostolova.

Mack and Schinz co-wrote the film with Nikita Afanasjew and Eva Kienholz.

It is produced by Martin Joss and Peter Reichenbach for C-Films AG Production, in collaboration with DCM, in co-production with SRF Schweizer Radio un Fernsehen and SRG SSR, with the support of Zurcher FIlmstiftung, Bundesamt fur Kultur, Valais Film Commission, Film Commission Zurich, Focal Stage Pool, and Suissimage.

A Happy Family is a debut feature for Swiss director Mack, after shorts including Facing Mecca, which won a Student Oscar in 2017 and was shortlisted for the Best Live Action Short at the Oscars.

Topics