Agent of Happiness follows two officials, Amber and Guna, who work for the Centre for Gross National Happiness in Bhutan, a government institution tasked with collecting data in order to measure citizens’ happiness. They travel across Bhutan, going door-to-door in towns and isolated Himalayan villages armed with a comprehensive survey of 148 questions designed to capture the contentment levels of their interviewees using a range of material, social and personal criteria: ‘Do you own a tractor? Goats? What about chickens? When was the last time you cried? Do you trust your neighbours?’

Beautifully shot and gently humorous, the film gives an intimate insight into the material lives, daily routines, bonds, beliefs, desires and fears of ordinary Bhutanese people. Whilst some readily manifest the official metrics of happiness (the owner of a cow that has just calved, a farmer who has three wives), for others (including Amber himself) more complex realities emerge that are framed by longing, anxiety and fear of loss. The directors of the film draw a deliberately wide circle, leaning into individual stories that perhaps speak most of the tensions of Bhutan as a changing society, which they sensitively let speak for themselves.

Doors open at 6.30pm. Please join us for some festive refreshments before the film begins.