Bhutan / Hungary 2024, 94 min, English, Nepalese and Dzongkha, Hebrew & English subtitles

The tiny Kingdom of Bhutan consistently tops international happiness surveys. The Buddhist nation’s Gross National Happiness Index is essential for government decision-making. It all sounds idyllic, but the reality is more complex. Traveling through picturesque Himalayan villages and bustling urban centers, Amber, the film’s protagonist, interviews locals from all walks of life about their well-being and contentedness, all while grappling with the conservatism of Bhutanese society and searching for the formula that will bring a little happiness and fulfillment into his own life.

Sponsored by Geographical Tours

Previous Festivals: Sundance

Screening Schedule:
  • Tue 28.05 | 14:30 | Cinematheque 3
  • יום ד' 29.05 | 18:00 | Cinematheque 1 | A short introduction by Guy Gelbgisser.
  • יום ה' 30.05 | 10:00 | Cinematheque 1
  • שבת 01.06 | 10:00 | Cinematheque 1

Arun Bhattarai (director, cinematographer, co-producer, Bhutan) premiered his first feature-length
documentary ‘The Next Guardian’ (co-directed by Dorottya Zurbó) - an intimate family story set in Bhutan - at
IDFA in 2017. The film has been screened at more than 40 international festivals (True/False, Ambulante,
SFFILM, MoMA DocFortnight etc.). Before becoming an independent filmmaker, he worked as a TV director
at the Bhutan Broadcasting Service for 5 years. He graduated from the first edition of DocNomads Joint Master
in documentary directing in 2014. His recent short documentary ‘Mountain Man’, about Bhutan’s only
glaciologist won the best pitch prize at If/Then Global Short-Pitch at IDFA 2019 and is supported by the
IDA-XRM Media incubator program. The film has been screened at IDFA, DOC NYC, Chicago IFF ect. His
new film ‘Agent of Happiness’ is supported by the Sundance Film Institute, Catapult Film Fund and DMZ
Docs Fund among others. The project was developed at the Points North Fellowship 2022, True False Rough
Cut Retreat 2023 and Doc.incubator 2023. He established his own production company - Sound Pictures -
dedicated to creative documentaries in 2015. He is one of the few independent documentary filmmakers in
Bhutan.

Dorottya Zurbó (co-director, Hungary) premiered her first feature-length documentary ‘The Next Guardian’
(co-directed by Arun Bhattarai), - an intimate family story set in Bhutan - at IDFA in 2017. Since then, it has
been screened at more than 40 international festivals (True/False, San Francisco IDFF, MoMA DocFortnight
etc.). Parallelly, she worked on her first directorial debut ‘Easy Lessons’, a feature-length documentary about a
young Somalian refugee girl who tries to adapt to Hungary, premiered at the Locarno Film Festival Critics Week
section in 2018. The film participated in more than 40 international festivals (HotDocs, Camden IDFF, Sarajevo
IFF etc.) receiving awards such as the Hungarian Critics Award for Best Documentary in 2019. Her new film
‘Agent of Happiness’ is supported by the Sundance Film Institute, Catapult Film Fund and DMZ Docs Fund
among others. The project was developed at the Points North Fellowship 2022, True False Rough Cut Retreat
2023 and Doc.incubator 2023. Beside filmmaking she has been teaching at the prestigious DocNomads Joint
Master program in Europe.

Production: Noémi Veronika Szakonyi, Máté Artur Vincze, Arun Bhattarai
Editing: Péter Sass
Cinematography: Arun Bhattarai
Sound Design: Rudolf Várhegyi H.S.A.S., Tamás Bohács H.S.A.S.
Music: Ádám Balázs