Three unforgettable Palestinian schoolgirls are the subject of this moving tribute to the power of song in a world of sorrow. Hiba, Rita, and Tamar are studying voice under the tutelage of a dedicated Bavarian teacher at a German school in Jerusalem. When Herr Kronthaler enters them in a prestigious European music competition, Jugend Musiziert (Youth Makes Music), the girls learn valuable lessons about success and failure in the emotionally charged world of classical music performance, and about what it means to be Palestinian in the world at large. As they interact with their families and travel to Istanbul and finally to Germany to compete, we witness some typical adolescent behavior that is made endearing by the girls’ genuine love of music and their difficult situations at home. Sensitively photographed without any narration, Sad Songs of Happiness uses intensely personal stories to address complex political issues in subtle ways.  AM