State of Happiness Best Script At Canneseries

Norwegian period drama State of Happiness (Lykkeland), starring Pia Tjelta and Per Kjerstad, was presented with awards for Best Script and Best Score at the inaugural Canneseries drama festival on Wednesday, but was edged out by When Heroes Fly (Israel) for the accolade of Best Drama.

It’s 1969 in the small coastal town of Stavanger and international oil companies have been test-drilling for years, but nothing has been found. They are in the process of leaving when, on Christmas Eve, a gas flare lights up and the largest sub sea oil basin in history is discovered. Everything is about to change…

Written by Mette Marit Bølstad (Nobel) and directed by Petter Næss, the series was judged by an international jury against: Aquí la tierra (Mexico), Cacciatore – The Hunter (Italy), Félix (Spain), Killing Eve (USA), Miguel (Israel), Mother (South Korea), The Typist – Die protokollantin (Germany), Undervover (Belgium), and When Heroes Fly (Israel).

State of Happiness will premiere on NRK this autumn.