AGENT OF HAPPINESS - UNTERWEGS IM AUFTRAG DES GLÜCKS

In the organizer's words:

Original title

खुशी को एजेन्ट

Production

Bhutan, Czech Republic, Hungary, United States , 2024

Release date

03.07.2025

Distribution

Filmwelt Distribution

Directed by

Dorottya Zurbo, Arun Bhattarai

Cast

Amber Kumar GurungGuna Raj Kuikel

The documentary road movie, which celebrated its world premiere at the Sundance Film Festival earlier this year, accompanies the Bhutanese Amber Gurung on his travels through the remote valleys of the Himalayas. There, agents like him ask the people of Bhutan about their very personal sense of happiness - and thus provide the basis for the policy of "Gross National Happiness", according to which the Bhutanese government is orienting the country's development. AGENT OF HAPPINESS follows Amber and a colleague as they drive from door to door in their small car and meet a wide variety of people, whether in the village or in the countryside, whether tilling the fields, praying or meditating. They react very differently to Amber's standardized questionnaire: whether they own a cow or a donkey, a tractor or a laptop - they all talk with unflinching honesty and quiet wisdom about their lives and what makes them happy and what perhaps does not. And Amber himself, who at almost 40 years old lives alone with his elderly mother, plays air guitar on his travels, sings and dances - but ultimately only dreams of finally finding the right woman. On the road on behalf of happiness and in search of his own happiness...

With AGENT OF HAPPINESS, Arun Bhattarai and Dorottya Zurbó open up a view into other lives and into another, fascinating world. Based on Bhutan's happiness policy, which is known worldwide today, the film explores the question of what happiness can be. When people talk about themselves, it suggests that happiness is not just a question of external circumstances. And how fragile happiness is - no matter where you live. Inevitably, you draw parallels with your own life and ask yourself about your own happiness. And a movie about the happiness of others might make you a little happier yourself.