INTERVIEW: New documentary tries to find happiness in higher elevations
Photo: Agent of Happiness takes a close look at how happiness is surveyed in the Kingdom of Bhutan. Photo courtesy of Film Movement / Provided by Foundry Comm with permission.
Agent of Happiness, the new documentary from Arun Bhattarai and Dorottya Zurbó, may be based in the Kingdom of Bhutan, but the film is offering a poetic and powerful statement about happiness throughout the globe. The movie, which is now playing in theaters, tracks the results of a most unique government policy in the high-altitude country of Bhutan. It’s there, amongst the Himalayas, that a Gross National Happiness is calculated thanks to intrepid agents who travel from community to community asking questions about people’s current moods and attitudes.
One of these agents is named Amber Gurung, who treks kilometers to check on people’s contentment, according to press notes. As he builds data for a happiness census, he also needs to ask himself that most pivotal of questions: Is he happy as well?
Recently Bhattarai and Zurbó exchanged emails with Hollywood Soapbox to talk all things happiness. Questions and answers have been slightly edited for style. The two directors answered jointly, except when noted.
Generally speaking, do you believe we are living in happy times?
We definitely don’t live in happy times. Having said that, it’s hard to find instances in history where the entirety of humanity was living in prosperity in one given time. However, we do feel that the strength of people comes from their interconnectedness and compassion towards one another. This is something we learnt from the characters in our film. Our individual contentment is dependent on the wellbeing of our community because … we can’t ignore the happiness of our neighbors, be [it] your next door neighbor or your neighbor in the next country.
Were there unique challenges filming in the remote regions of Bhutan?
It’s always a challenge filming in Bhutan because of the remote mountainous terrain and the Himalayan serpentine roads, which keep getting blocked because of the unpredictable monsoon rains. We also had to adjust to the rhythm of life in rural Bhutan where most of our characters are based. People don’t follow fixed schedules and timings, so finding time to film with them was sometimes quite difficult. This required a lot of living together and building friendships with our characters and learning to wait so that we are adjusting to them rather than them adjusting to us.
Do you feel this happiness survey actually provides insight into our mental health?
Yes, we do feel.
The research of happiness and subjective wellbeing became a popular science in the ’80s. Bhutan’s Gross National Happiness Index and methodology is just one of the many ways of measuring a society’s progress not only with material and economic terms but rather in a holistic way.
The act of surveying is an act of communication by the government with its people. The very act itself is one of care. However, quantifying happiness for a survey is not an easy exercise, but we do believe that people are able to assess and evaluate their life and their mental health on a given scale that gives information for the government to improve and inspire their policies as the questions cover factors like loneliness, spirituality, positive emotions and life satisfaction.
What was it like to follow Amber Gurung? Why him?
When we first met Amber we were struck by how good of a listener he was while doing the survey with people. He also had a self-deprecating humor and when I (Arun) realized that he comes from the same ethnic Nepali community like me, we could connect on so many levels. After spending a lot of time with him, we found out that he is in search of love and actually is very lonely. It was ironic that his day job was to measure people’s happiness, but deep inside he was unhappy. This search for love was intertwined with his lack of citizenship despite being a fourth-generation Bhutanese. His beautiful personality layered with his struggles as a second-class citizen, but also his strength to cope with adversity, were some of the reasons that made us want to have him as a main protagonist of the film.
Is measuring happiness an individualized pursuit? Is there one answer for everyone?
Happiness is not a pursuit but a way of life. Probably that’s why it’s impossible to measure individual happiness, but it’s possible to indicate the direction in which the collective happiness of the society is moving. That way, aiming for happiness is still a noble pursuit, although there might not be … one answer for everyone.
Are you happy?
BHATTARAI: I would say at this stage in my life, I have found contentment despite happy and sad moments that keep taking turns.
ZURBÓ: I would say the experience of creating the film together with our protagonists and creative team made my life much happier and meaningful.
By John Soltes / Publisher / John@HollywoodSoapbox.com
Agent of Happiness, directed by Arun Bhattarai and Dorottya Zurbó, is now playing in movie theaters. Click here for more information.
