Agent of Happiness

Documentary Dzongkha

The documentary team follows two happiness agents in their forties who spend a month and a half on the road twice a year, going door-to-door with their questionnaires in isolated villages in the Himalayas. The filmmakers undertake to provide an intimate insight into the daily lives and desires of Bhutanese people, and also seek the answer to the universal question of whether happiness can really be measured. Gross National Happiness promises a heart-warming journey into a mysterious, fairytale-like world, which is the exact opposite of the social order dominated by consumption and desires.

Cast:	Amber Kumar Gurung, Guna Raj Kuikel,
Director:	Dorottya Zurbo, Arun Bhattarai
Editor:	Károly Szalai, Péter Sass

All Guild Reviews of Agent of Happiness

Image of scene from the film Agent of Happiness

A Documentary questions if Bhutan is a happy country

Udita Jhunjhunwala | Mint writing for Scroll.in

Sat, November 30 2024

A film about Bhutan’s happiness surveyors, in competition at the MAMI Mumbai film festival 2024, captures the contrast between data and the emotions behind the numbers

In the late 1970s, the king of Bhutan coined the term “gross national happiness". GNH parameters are used to measure progress, well-being and happiness, placing their importance over economic pursuits alone. This programme has been pivotal in shaping development policies and governance in Bhutan, a landlocked nation in eastern Himalayas that is often ranked as one of the happiest in the world. Happiness surveyor Amber Kumar Gurung of the Happiness Centre is the subject of a new documentary, Agent of Happiness (in competition at the MAMI Mumbai film festival 2024).