Ep 064: TIFF Special: SAD JOKES and the Perspective of Being a Carer
SAD JOKES is the story of Joseph, a gay filmmaker, who co-parents with Sonya who is struggling with depression. The film captures a moment in time when Joseph has to juggle his family life, love life, and artistic ambition while Sonya's away at a clinic during a mental health crisis.
Writer, director, and star, Fabian Stumm, tells us about the making of the film and how his personal life colored this film. Growing up with a dad with depression, Fabian understood at a young age that sometimes the people who are meant to take care of you can break down. He took that perspective into Joseph's character as he tried to keep everything together when his partner was in that state of crisis.
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The film also shows a family dynamic we rarely see on screen: two friends co-parenting a child. Fabian believes that if you want to change something, you can talk about it or you can show how it can be. If you create something an audience can aspire to, then it shows new possibilities and a path you can head toward (we believe the same, too!).
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Music: Deppisch
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ABOUT OUR GUEST
Fabian Stumm (Director, Writer, Producer; Joseph in SAD JOKES) works as an actor, author, and director. He studied at the Lee Strasberg Theatre & Film Institute New York and has since appeared on stage at HAU – Hebbel am Ufer, Münchner Kammerspiele, Volksbühne Berlin, in The Kitchen New York, and Tate Modern London. His film and TV works include “Lore by Cate Shortland, “Bela Kiss” by Lucien Förstner, “Precious Ivie” by Sarah Blaßkiewitz, and the series “Druck” and “Oh Hell”.
In 2020 he made his directorial debut with the short film “Bruxelles”. 2021 followed his second film “Daniel” which was awarded best medium-length film at the Achtung Berlin Festival. His feature film debut “Bones and Names” premiered at the 2023 Berlinale in the Perspektive Deutsches Kino section and won the Heiner Carow Prize. In 2024, Marie-Lou Sellem was nominated for the German Film Award for Best Supporting Actress for her role in the film.
“Sad Jokes” is his second feature film. Following its celebrated world premiere at the Filmfest München, “Sad Jokes” received two major awards there: the German Cinema New Talent Award (Best Director) and the FIPRESCI Award.
Filmography as director:
2020 “Bruxelles“ (short film)
2021 “Daniel“ (middle-length film)
2023 “Knochen und Namen“
2024 “Sad Jokes“
SAD JOKES
Written and Directed by Fabian Stumm
Cinematography Michael Bennett. Editor Kaspar Panizza. Art Director Nele Schallenberg. Costumes Anna Hellmann. Producer lucie Tamboprini. Co-Production Nele Schallenberg & Wiebke Wesselmann. Producers Fabian Stumm & Nicola Heim.
Starring Fabian Stumm, Haley Louise Jones, Justus Meyer, Ulrica Flach, Jonas Dassler, Godehard Giese, Marie-Lou Sellem
Joseph (Fabian Stumm) and Sonya (Haley Louise Jones) are close friends who are raising their young son Pino together. Joseph is working on a new film idea and struggling, for several years now, to move on from the breakup with his ex-boyfriend Marc (Jonas Dassler); while Sonya is suffering from a depression that increasingly tears her out of her life. When Sonya checks herself into a clinic to recover, Joseph is forced to juggle parenting, romantic possibilities, and his artistic ambitions.
In his second feature, Writer/Director Fabian Stumm mixes different moods to create a cinematic friction with reality. SAD JOKES is absurdly funny and banal, hopeful and heartbreaking or – like real life – all at once.
Winner of the New Talent Award, New German Cinema Award, Best Director and FIPRESCI Film Critics Award for Best Film at the Filmfest Munchen. On the short list for the German Best International Feature Oscar submission.
REFERENCES
Other episodes you’ll enjoy:
The Big C: Breast Cancer and Mental Health - Episode 058
Causeway and Traumatic Brain Injury - Episode 042
Investigating Inequality Across Film and TV - Episode 041