In the age of polyamory and blurred lines of sexuality, what really makes for a happy relationship? Two young couples in New York — one black and gay, one white and heterosexual — find themselves intertwined as they create new relationship norms, explore sexual identity, and redefine monogamy.

Take Annie, a teacher concerned with upward mobility, and her younger, musician boyfriend, Stan. Needing an excuse for why she wants them to take a break, Annie pretends to be dating her female coworker Mandy. Heartbroken Stan quickly attempts to get over Annie by being under Marcus, who just started having an open relationship with his long-term boyfriend, Aaron. After six years of monogamy, Marcus is surprised to find himself emotionally raw and vulnerable with first-timer Stan, and he breaks the one agreement he has with Aaron.

After a bad blind date, newly free Annie decides to give it a go with Mandy, a fragile woman who, after Annie’s advances, realizes she actually is a lesbian and starts to develop real feelings. A chance encounter between the couples on a train platform forces them all to reevaluate their ideas of fidelity and redefine relationship norms.

Filmmaker Rodney Evans (Brother to Brother, Frameline28) masterfully helms a talented multicultural ensemble cast including Chicago Fire’s Charlie Barnett, singer-songwriter Cameron Scoggins, and Leroy McClain as Marcus and Sorel Carradine as Annie. The Happy Sad explores the art of happiness, sexual identity, honesty, and monogamy. It’s a cliché to say that you don’t know what you’ve got until it’s gone, but sometimes you still don’t really know what you’ve got once you get it back again.