LOGLINE

Happily Ever After is a dark comedy musical set in Cairo, Egypt. The film follows Fatin, who questions her hasty decision to elope when she's faced with the reality of her dysfunctional relationship with her fiery fiance, Gamal.

SYNOPSIS

Fatin, a young serial monogamist, and Gamal, a middle-aged man-child, elope in a two-star hotel masquerading as a four-star. In the opening number, Fatin shows hesitation as Gamal leads her through an over-the-top display of romance that sparks the envy of all the hotel guests.

As Gamal orchestrates a romantic spaghetti dinner a la Lady and the Tramp, Fatin takes some time to assess her situation. She is quickly interrupted by an enraged Gamal, who assaults a teenage room service worker over a mysterious bed stain. Their dinner takes a sour turn when Fatin refuses to play along and Gamal throws a tantrum that results in bolognese-covered walls. She retaliates by staging her suicide and reducing Gamal to tears.

Touched by his vulnerability, Fatin calls for a ceasefire. The couple is then summoned downstairs for a make-shift wedding celebration, where they are forced into a romantic tango that now feels disingenuous to both of them. In the final musical number, Gamal extends Fatin an unconventional peace offering that unites the couple.

DIRECTOR'S STATEMENT

Recently, I started thinking seriously about marriage for the first time. About the gap between the romance I've seen projected on screen throughout my life, and the messy, sometimes horrific relationships that exist in reality. Happily Ever After explores that tension. It explores how couples negotiate the terms of their relationships and how women navigate power dynamics and achieve "balance" in a world that's totally skewed. To me, it felt natural to explore that theme through the heavily gendered, overly dramatic and romance-centric musical genre.

Musicals have always served as a source of romantic aspiration. They simplified and made love accessible and digestible for all. And while a healthy dose of romanticism can give us hope and keep us going, sometimes ignoring the full complexity of romantic relationships can be damaging.

The main question that our film poses is this: What if the couples in these musicals had to deal with the actual reality of their relationships? What if Maria took the time to process the killing of her brother in West Side Story? What if Sandy decided to confront Danny about forcing himself on her at the drive-in movie in Grease? I think it’s important to make a musical that is fun and dynamic but that doesn’t gloss over these details just because women are expected to ignore red flags and make sacrifices when love is on the line.

BUDGET BREAKDOWN

VISUAL APPROACH

COLOR SCHEME