Happy (2011 film)

Happy is a 2011 documentary film directed, written, and co-produced by Roko Belic.[1] It explores human happiness through interviews with people from all walks of life in 14 countries, weaving in the newest findings of positive psychology.[2]

Happy
Promotional poster
Directed byRoko Belic
Written byRoko Belic
Produced byTom Shadyac
Frances Reid
Eiji Han Shimizu
Roko Belic
CinematographyRoko Belic
Adrian Belic
Edited byVivien Hillgrove
Music byMark Adler
Production
company
Wadi Rum Productions
Release date
  • April 9, 2011 (2011-04-09)
Running time
73 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Budget$700,000

Synopsis

Roko Belic was inspired to create the film after producer/director Tom Shadyac showed him an article in The New York Times titled "A New Measure of Well Being from a Happy Little Kingdom".[3] The article ranks the United States as the 23rd-happiest country in the world. Shadyac then suggested that Belic make a documentary about happiness. Belic spent several years interviewing hundreds of people, from leading happiness researchers to a rickshaw driver in Kolkata,[4] a family living in a cohousing community in Denmark, a woman who was run over by a truck, a Cajun fisherman, and more.

Production

Roko and his brother Adrian Belic shot the film on three Sony Z1U HDV video cameras. They interviewed a number of psychologists around the world, including Ed Diener, a professor of psychology at the University of Illinois; Richard Davidson, a professor at the University of Wisconsin's Lab of Affective Neuroscience; and Sonja Lyubomirsky, professor at the University of California, Riverside and author of The How of Happiness.[5]

Post-production

Vivien Hillgrove edited the film. Belic received the majority of the budget from Tom Shadyac to complete principal photography and post-production. The filmmakers then turned to crowdsource fundraising website Kickstarter to raise the finishing funds for the film. The Kickstarter campaign raised $36,000 in July 2010.[5]

See also

References
  1. 'Happy' documentary argues that everyone can become happier - Deseret News
  2. WorldCat.org
  3. "A New Measure of Well-BeingFrom a Happy Little Kingdom (Published 2005)". The New York Times. Archived from the original on 2023-02-11.
  4. "The Search for Happiness". The Huffington Post. January 20, 2012. Retrieved May 30, 2015.
  5. Gonzalez Jr, Miguel (July 7, 2010). "The Secret of Happiness - A Documentarian Looks for the Answer". The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved September 8, 2010.
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