(LONG BEACH ISLAND, NJ) -- On Friday, September 16 at 7:30pm, the Lighthouse International Film Society presents a screening of Sweet Disaster. The film starts with a pair of strangers hooking up at an airport bar, and ends months later with the birth of their child. But it’s the stuff in-between which distinguishes this German film from the fluff you ordinarily see in 21st century romcoms. The award-winning German “dramedy” shows a light touch with mature topics.
Frida is a 40 year-old special needs art teacher, and her lover, Felix, a commercial pilot on the rebound. While their relationship gets off to a flying start, it’s not long before the pilot jets away to reunite with his ex, on the same day Frida breaks her happy news to him that she’s pregnant.
But what you won’t see from this setup is the standard angst you’ve come to expect in similar stories. Instead, Frida, dazed and confused by her sudden predicament, begins slowly but surely to creatively rebuild her life. And with the help of friends and neighbors—and one-sided phone calls for advice with her long-dead father—she uses her artistic spirit to rejoin the living.
“Sweet Disaster is a quirky, joyful feature from first-time German filmmaker Laura Lehmus,” says Natalie Caricato, director of Lighthouse International Film Society who selected the film for screening. “We usually draw a good crowd for upbeat films, and this certainly falls into that category. Despite a break-up, a difficult pregnancy, and a lost job, Frida bounces back with gusto in more than a few zany Amélie-esque type moments.”
Tickets are $10 online/$12 door and FREE for LIFSociety Members. The screening takes place at Long Beach Island Foundation of the Arts & Sciences (120 Long Beach Blvd) in Loveladies, New Jersey. Tickets are available for purchase online.
Caricato says a cameo appearance by former Baywatch stud David Hasselhoff is an added bonus, given that Frida’s special needs kids love binge-watching reruns of that cheesy American TV show.
Director, Laura Lehmus was born in 1972 in Finland. She studied fine arts at F+F School in Zurich & audiovisual media at the Academy of Media Arts in Cologne. After long stopovers in Berlin and Helsinki, in 2019 Laura finally settled in Düsseldorf from where she works as director, on-air producer, and art director for film and TV. Her short film Alienation has won dozens awards such as the German Short Film Award (2015) and became one of the three most successful German short films in 2016. Sweet Disaster is Laura’s feature film debut, with a festival release in late 2021 and a German theatrical release in late summer 2022.
LIFSociety would like to thank their sponsors Long Beach Island Foundation of the Arts and Sciences, Ocean County Cultural and Heritage Foundation, Pangaea Naturals Health Food Market and Joe Pop's Shore Bar for their support in bringing this film to Long Beach Island. Baked goods from Baked on the Beach will be available at the screening of Sweet Disaster.
LIFS screens films year-round. For more information and tickets for Sweet Disaster visit their website at www.lighthousefilmfestival.org.
