Festival Predictions

2013 Cannes Film Festival Predictions: Denis Dercourt’s Happy Birthday

Published on April 3, 2013

#66. Denis Dercourt’s Happy Birthday

Gist: Opening at the beginning of the 1980s in former East Germany, the film centers on Paul who enters into a pact on his 16th birthday with fellow pupil Georg to take care of Georg’s girlfriend Anna. The only condition is that Georg, who unexpectedly has to move away, would get her back whenever he so desires. 30 years pass and Paul and Anna are happily married with two children. Then, one day, Georg suddenly re-appears and is appointed as Paul’s new boss. Has he come back for Anna and what other secrets might come to the surface?

Prediction: French director Dercourt’s intriguing German film stars Saskia Rosendahl, who was named one of the shooting stars of 2013 for her performance in Lore. Dercourt has been steadily working since the late 90s, but is probably best known for his 2006 revenge thriller The Page Turner with Deborah Francois and the astounding Catherine Frot (in an infrequent dramatic turn). We are predicting Directors’ Fortnight.

Related Topics:2013 Cannes Film Festival, Denis Dercourt, Happy Birthday

Nicholas Bell

Los Angeles based Nicholas Bell is IONCINEMA.com's Chief Film Critic and covers film festivals such as Sundance, Berlin, Cannes and TIFF. He is part of the critic groups on Rotten Tomatoes, The Los Angeles Film Critics Association (LAFCA), the Online Film Critics Society (OFCS) and GALECA. His top 3 for 2021: France (Bruno Dumont), Passing (Rebecca Hall) and Nightmare Alley (Guillermo Del Toro). He was a jury member at the 2019 Cleveland International Film Festival.