Film: Agent of happiness

By Arun Bhattarai, Dorottya Zurbó

Documentary / 2024 / Bhutan,Hungary / 94 min / Nepali, Dzongkha, English / English subs / No age limit

Amber and Guna, two “happiness agents” mandated by the government, travel to isolated Himalayan villages to collect data for the Gross National Happiness survey. With 148 questions, the goal is to measure people’s level of happiness on a mathematical scale.

In this heartwarming documentary, we get to see glimpses into the daily life of ordinary Bhutanese people. As feelings of melancholy, humour and sometimes confusion surface, we wonder: Can we really measure happiness? And more importantly: are we happy?