Yahoo News ‘Agent of Happiness,’ Prize-Winning Bhutan Documentary, Set for North American Theatrical Release (EXCLUSIVE)
Film Movement has acquired North American rights to the feature-length documentary “Agent of Happiness.”
The company plans a 2024 theatrical release, as well as distribution on leading digital platforms and in the home entertainment marketplace.
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Directed by Arun Bhattarai and Dorottya Zurbó, the film debuted at the Sundance festival where it was a Grand Jury Prize nominee. It subsequently won audience awards at both the San Francisco International Film Festival and the Margaret Mead Film Festival. It also played at True/False, CPH:DOX, Full Frame, Thessaloniki Documentary Festival and Hot Docs.
The documentary follows Amber and Guna raj, who are not only close friends, but also Happiness Agents who work on behalf of Bhutan’s Ministry of Gross National Happiness, collecting data in order to create a five-year plan to increase the country’s Happiness Index.
As the pair travel door to door through the remote Himalayan mountains measuring people’s happiness levels and hearing their personal stories and aspirations, Amber and Guna raj search for their own happiness in this Buddhist kingdom, an exotic country closed to outsiders for decades. And in a journey that is as political as it is personal, people’s revelatory answers lay bare their relationship to Bhutan’s government, its nation state, and monarchy.
The announcement was made by Michael Rosenberg, president, Film Movement and Shoshi Korman, co-MD of sales agent Cinephil.
“There’s never been a better time to distribute a documentary about happiness,” says Rosenberg. “And aside from opening a fascinating window into life in isolated Bhutan, Arun and Dorottya have crafted a heart-warming, multi-layered exploration into the very nature of fulfillment.”
Cinephil previously licensed the film for release in the U.K. and Ireland (Dogwoof), Germany and Austria (Filmwelt), Australia and New Zealand (Vendetta), Italy (Wanted), Spain and Portugal (Filmin), Poland (Against Gravity), Switzerland (Trigon), Belgium (VRT), Israel (Lev), the Western Balkans (Beldocs), Hong Kong and Macao (Now TV Hong Kong), and Taiwan (Sky Digi).
Variety‘s review of the film said, “‘Agent of Happiness’ uses meaningful visual contrast to scrutinize Bhutan’s narrative about itself.”
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