PARK CITY, UTAH - JANUARY 19: (L-R) Suraj Bhattarai, Arun Bhattarai, Dorottya Zurb and M t Artur Vincze attend the 2024 Sundance Film Festival Agent of Happiness premiere. (Photo by Stephen Lovekin/Shutterstock)
By Patty Consolazio
Films can affect viewers in great and enduring ways. But we don't often get the chance to hear how they can affect the very people who create them.
Co-directors Arun Bhattarai and Dorottya Zurb spoke in a Q&A after the premiere screening of Agent of Happiness on January 19 at the 2024 Sundance Film Festival.
Documentary filmmaking is always a very self-reflective process, and I think while we were shooting the film, we were always questioning ourselves, what makes us happy, says Zurb . I think for me, visiting and living and creating in Bhutan in the last 10 years, what I learned from the people and our protagonists is mostly acceptance to try and let things go, not always striving for more, and appreciate the moment. Making this film was a lot of time a reminder of our values, which we tend to forget in this rushing world.
Bhutan lies deep in the center of Asia between India and China, known for being a verdant, mountainous region of the world. As a society, the Bhutanese hold the belief that happiness is a characteristic key to the well-being of the nation. In fact, much like with the U.S. Census, Bhutan's government sends hired agents to travel door-to-door throughout the country and interview residents in hopes of gathering data on their Gross Happiness Index.
Amber Gurung wakes up each morning, tends to his mother, brushing her hair and admonishing her to go outside to brush twice daily so she doesn't shed hair on the floor. Then he bids her farewell so he can do his job as an agent of happiness. Hiking from shanty to shanty, Amber and his partner knock on doors and meet people where they are - working in their fields, chopping wood, sitting in meditation or prayer - and they interview them to ascertain their level of happiness. Residents give a rating of 1 through 10 on indicators like worry, satisfaction, work-life balance, and number of cows, pigs, and TVs. And when a man says, I am as happy as the number of grains in my rice storage, well, that's a 7.
As Amber traverses the countryside, he considers his own happiness. He dances, sings, and plays air guitar for fun, and has a car and job, but he says life is empty without someone to share it. Similar stories of gratitude and longing come forth, as we meet the man with three wives who speaks for them, insisting they are very happy, as one of the wives wipes a tear from her eye. And the man who hangs white flags on the mountain to protect his dead wife's spirit; though she is not dead - he believes she has been reborn as his grandson. One young woman is very happy because her cow has given birth, providing her family with another milk source.
Although their lives are modest and luxuries few, the Bhutanese teach a clear lesson about the happiness derived from the simplest things. This rings especially true for those who embrace their blessings and spirituality. As one young woman expresses, I must have done something good in my past life to be born in this country.
Agent of Happiness is part of Sundance's World Cinema Documentary Competition.
North America Stories
22/10/2025
Prime Video Inks Deal To Present NFL Black Friday Game Worldwide By SVG Staff
Wednesday, October 22, 2025 - 10:06 am
Print This Story | Subscribe
Story ...
22/10/2025
NBA Tip-Off: ESPN Goes 1080p HDR End-to-End, Flipping HDR Switch on REMI and REM...
22/10/2025
FloSports Empowers Division II, III Athletic Departments With Turnkey Production...
22/10/2025
Wall Street Video Summit Debuts, Bringing Together 200 Financial Enterprise Vide...
22/10/2025
Dueling Pianos: International Chopin Piano Competition Is as Competitive as a Ba...
22/10/2025
The Orion spacecraft for NASA's Artemis II mission is stacked on the Space Launch System (SLS) rocket in High Bay 3 of the Vehicle Assembly Building at Kenn...
22/10/2025
L3Harris' Hybrid SATCOM is resilient by design, offering path diversity that eliminates vulnerabilities by routing data across the best available networks i...
22/10/2025
WASHINGTON, D.C. Organizers of NAB Show New York said they are expecting more than 12,000 registered attendees from about 100 countries along with 260 exhibitor...
22/10/2025
WASHINGTON, D.C The organizers of The 2025 NAB Show New York have announced that they are expecting more than 12,000 registered attendees from about 100 countr...
22/10/2025
Masque Sound, a leading theatrical sound reinforcement, installation and design company, supplied an extensive gear package of professional-grade equipment for ...
22/10/2025
Lightware, a global leader in signal management and AV connectivity solutions, is seeing strong market momentum for the UCX-3x3-TPX-RX20, a compact transmitter-...
22/10/2025
MELVILLE, N.Y. Chyron has released PAINT 10.2, the latest update for its telestration platform, adding support for SMPTE ST 2110 IP workflows, expanding brandin...
22/10/2025
WASHINGTON Run3TV today said NBCUniversal is joining as an investor in the ATSC 3.0 Framework Authority, which develops the Run3TV NextGen TV application platfo...
22/10/2025
ATLANTA swXtch.io will feature two new networking solutions extending the company's reach across more cloud and on-prem workflows at NAB Show New York, set ...
22/10/2025
The Warner Bros. Discoverys HBO Max streaming services has increased prices for all its streaming tiers effectively immediately for new customers. Existing cust...
22/10/2025
LOS ANGELES OpenDrives has signed a new distribution partnership deal with Versatile Distribution Services (VDS) to strengthen its channel and streamline how it...
22/10/2025
WASHINGTON, D.C The organizers of The 2025 NAB Show New York have announced that they are expecting more than 12,000 registered attendees from about 100 countr...
22/10/2025
Samora Pinderhughes Brings Immersive Sound to Berklee's Signature Series The artist and composer, who's worked with Herbie Hancock, Robert Glasper, Co...
22/10/2025
BMI Day at Berklee Celebrates Composer Fil Eisler and Awards Scholarship to Stud...
22/10/2025
European Broadcaster Upgrades To Grass Valley's NativeIP LDX 135 Cameras And...
21/10/2025
NAB New York 2025: Although AES Show Is on Its Own, Audio Will Be a Major Part o...
21/10/2025
NAB New York 2025: Business of Broadcast and Media,' Future of Content'...
21/10/2025
SVG All-Stars: Ethan Folz, Senior Director, Digital Operations and Quality of Ex...
21/10/2025
NBA on NBC/Peacock: Livestream Offers Graphic Overlays, Predictive Gaming, Ancil...
21/10/2025
NBA on NBC/Peacock: At the Front Bench With Producer Frank DiGraci and Director ...
21/10/2025
NBA on NBC/Peacock: NBC Sports, NEP Build Ultra-Flexible Production Plan That Se...
21/10/2025
Indigenous storytelling has been at the heart of the work of the Sundance Instit...
21/10/2025
Top L-R: Mysterious Skin, American Dream Second Row L-R: Little Miss Sunshine, D...
21/10/2025
Critical Design Review completion is a key milestone on the path toward Wideband Global Satellite Communications certification for the network in 2026, opening ...
21/10/2025
New Australian undersea training range to implement and improve warfighting tactics, proficiency and safety; enable joint/allied training that contributes to pr...
21/10/2025
September, the beginning of autumn, brought an expected revival to the TV market, largely due to the new fall TV schedules. The time spent in front of the TV sc...
21/10/2025
Broadcast Booms with 20% Uptick vs. August, Achieving Largest Monthly
Increase ...
21/10/2025
During September, streaming's share of TV viewing in Mexico settled at 24.5%, a marginal shift of -0.5 share points from the previous month.
Disclaimer: YU...
21/10/2025
RENNES, France BBright and GlobalM have conducted a technical trial validating Ultra HD interoperability across the entire contribution chain in the cloud, achi...
21/10/2025
Kokusai Denki Electric America will mark the U.S. debut of a new 4K camera at the 2025 NAB New York, Oct. 22-23. Now available, the Z-HD6500-S1 UHD/HD productio...
21/10/2025
Triveni Digital, a trusted leader in ATSC 1.0 and 3.0 service delivery, data broadcasting, and quality assurance solutions, will showcase its entire NEXTGEN TV ...
21/10/2025
Radio Azzurra FM, longest-running radio station in the province of Novara, northwest Italy, has invested in an DHD SX2 audio routing and mixing console for inte...
21/10/2025
Globecast, the leading provider of broadcast, media and entertainment managed services, has announced the appointment of G Morgan as Executive Vice President of...
21/10/2025
Visual Data announces the appointment of Maz Al-Jumaili as Senior Vice President, Worldwide Localization, to advance client engagement, strategic partnerships, ...
21/10/2025
As Amazon's Prime Video prepares to launch its coverage of NBA basketball under a major new deal, Grup Mediapro has announced that it is working with the st...
21/10/2025
ATLANTA Good news for consumers using an Atlanta DTH receiver to watch ATSC 3.0: with a new software update, they will be able to blanket their homes with Wi-Fi...
21/10/2025
While recent news has been heavily focused on Hispanic migration into the U.S., The 2025 Hispanic Market Report from Claritas highlights the fact that this gr...
21/10/2025
MAIDENHEAD, UK RWS has hired Michael Wayne as its head of media and entertainment in Los Angeles where he will lead the company's media localization busines...
21/10/2025
Imagine Communications and Rohde & Schwarz today announced a definitive agreement under which Imagine will acquire Pixel Power Limited, a wholly owned subsidiar...
21/10/2025
Atlanta DTH (ADTH) today announced a major update that will expand the functionality of its NEXTGEN TV receiver by enabling gateway capabilities allowing viewer...
21/10/2025
Heartland Video Systems, Inc. (HVS), a premier video systems integration, consulting, and expert ATSC 3.0 implementation firm announces that it has partnered wi...
21/10/2025
QuickLink, the leading provider of award-winning video production and remote guest integration solutions, today announced the appointment of Austin Hinton as it...
21/10/2025
nternet connectivity startup Miri Technologies Inc. will use this week's NAB Show New York as the launch pad for its latest ground-breaking innovation, the ...
21/10/2025
Coastal communities in the U.S. have a 26% chance of flooding within a 30-year period. This percentage is expected to increase due to climate-change-driven sea-...
PARK CITY, UTAH - JANUARY 19: (L-R) Suraj Bhattarai, Arun Bhattarai, Dorottya Zurb and M t Artur Vincze attend the 2024 Sundance Film Festival Agent of Happiness premiere. (Photo by Stephen Lovekin/Shutterstock)
