Bhutan Doc ‘Agent of Happiness’ Boarded by Cinephil Ahead of Sundance Premiere (EXCLUSIVE)
variety.comNick Vivarelli International Correspondent Tel Aviv-based sales company Cinephil has acquired world rights for feature documentary “Agent of Happiness,” which delves into the Buddhist kingdom of Bhutan, ahead of its upcoming Sundance Film Festival debut in the World Cinema Documentary competition.
Co-directed by Arun Bhattarai, who is Bhutanese, in tandem with Hungary’s Dorottya Zurbó, “Agent of Happiness” revolves around a 40-year-old man named Amber, who is one of the agents employed by the Bhutanese government to measure its so-called Gross National Happiness level.
In the late 1990s, Bhutan introduced a unique socioeconomic indicator called the Gross National Happiness Index, meant to ensure that economic development doesn’t disrupt traditional lifestyles.
Amber, who still lives with his elderly mother, is “nevertheless a hopeless romantic who dreams of finding love: a happiness agent who is in search of his own happiness,” as the doc’s synopsis puts it.
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