Agent of Happiness

Documentary about two government commissioners who go from door to door in remote villages in the Himalayas with their questionnaires and ask people about their feelings of happiness. The filmmakers provide an intimate insight into the daily lives and desires of the Bhutanese people and at the same time search for an answer to the universal question of whether happiness can really be measured.

The documentary road movie accompanies Bhutanese Amber Gurung on his travels through the remote valleys of the Himalayas. There he asks the local population about their very personal sense of happiness - and in doing so provides the basis for the policy of ‘Gross National Happiness’, according to which the Bhutanese government is organising the country's development. The film 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 working in the fields, praying or meditating ... With this film, directors Arun Bhattarai and Dorottya Zurbó open up a view 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.