Tel Aviv-based gross sales firm Cinephil has acquired world rights for function documentary “Agent of Happiness,” which delves into the Buddhist kingdom of Bhutan, forward of its upcoming Sundance Movie Competition debut within the World Cinema Documentary competitors.

Co-directed by Arun Bhattarai, who’s Bhutanese, in tandem with Hungary’s Dorottya Zurbó, “Agent of Happiness” revolves round a 40-year-old man named Amber, who is among the brokers employed by the Bhutanese authorities to measure its so-called Gross Nationwide Happiness stage.

Within the late Nineteen Nineties, Bhutan launched a singular socioeconomic indicator known as the Gross Nationwide Happiness Index, meant to make sure that financial improvement doesn’t disrupt conventional existence. Amber, who nonetheless lives together with his aged mom, is “however a hopeless romantic who desires of discovering love: a happiness agent who’s searching for his personal happiness,” because the doc’s synopsis places it.

In “Agent of Happiness,” the administrators embark with Amber on a cross-country street journey assembly Bhutanese residents from all walks of life.

“’Agent of Happiness’ is such a gem on the planet of documentaries,” Cinephil managing administrators Suzanne Nodale and Shoshi Korman mentioned in an announcement. “It’s an out of the peculiar journey, humorous and cinematic, led by an unforgettable character, difficult and reshaping our understanding of the ever-elusive idea of happiness.”

“We really feel honored that Cinephil has come on board,” commented filmmakers Bhattari and Zurbó, whose earlier Bhutan-themed doc “The Subsequent Guardian” launched from Amsterdam’s IDFA docs fest in 2017.

“The most important inspiration behind our new movie is the government-initiated happiness survey calculating the society’s general happiness index,” they added. “We have been triggered by these numbers, the right way to measure emotions and life experiences with formulation, and needed to translate this holistic act of measurement into cinematic experiences that look past the graphs and present the thoughts and soul of Bhutanese individuals in a rustic the place happiness is excessive on the official agenda.”

“Agent of Happiness,” which can premiere in Park Metropolis on Jan. 19, is produced by Noémi Veronika Szakonyi, Máté Artur Vincze and Bhattarai. It was developed on the Factors North Fellowship 2022, at True False Tough Reduce Retreat 2023 and at Dok.Incubator 2023, and is supported by the Sundance Movie Institute, the Catapult Movie Fund, Hungary’s Nationwide Movie Institute, the DeNovo Initiative and the South-Korean DMZ Docs Fund, amongst different entities.