Happy (2011 film)
2011 American film
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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]
Frances Reid
Eiji Han Shimizu
Roko Belic
Adrian Belic
| Happy | |
|---|---|
Promotional poster | |
| Directed by | Roko Belic |
| Written by | Roko Belic |
| Produced by | Tom Shadyac Frances Reid Eiji Han Shimizu Roko Belic |
| Cinematography | Roko Belic Adrian Belic |
| Edited by | Vivien Hillgrove |
| Music by | Mark Adler |
Production companies | Shady Acres Entertainment Wadi Rum Productions |
Release date |
|
Running time | 73 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| 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]