The Happy Film

{ feature documentary }

 

Austrian graphic designer Stefan Sagmeister is doing well. He lives in New York, the city of his dreams, and he has success in his work, designing album covers for the Rolling Stones, Jay-Z and the Talking Heads. But in the back of his mind he suspects there must be something more. He decides to turn himself into a design project. Can he redesign his personality to become a better person? Is it possible to train his mind to get happier?

He pursues 3 controlled experiments of meditation, therapy, and drugs, grading himself along the way. But real life creeps in and confounds the process: art, sex, love, and death prove impossible to disentangle. His unique designs and painfully personal experiences mark a journey that travels closer to himself than ever intended.

Credits

Directors: Stefan Sagmeister, Ben Nabors, Hillman Curtis
Producer: Ben Nabors
Cinematographer: Ben Wolf

Editors: Sam Citron, Akiko Iwakawa-Grieve
Music By: Colin Huebert & Matt Abeysekera
A So So Production

Complete credits at IMDB.

Accolades & Press
“A wild and unsettling pursuit of bliss.”
— WIRED Magazine
“Personal, thoughtful, and visually arresting.”
— Scientific American
“The real star of the film is the design… It’s inventive and creative and delightful.”
— Reel News Daily
“Entertaining to its core… Universally compelling”
— Film Journal
“Transcendent. An Atom Bomb!”
— Steven Heller via Design Matters

Select Screenings

  • Tribeca Film Festival (World Premiere)

  • Hot Docs Film Festival (International Premiere)

  • Sheffield DocFest (European Premiere)

  • Docaviv

  • Telluride MountainFilm

  • Aspen MountainSummit

  • Camden International Film Festival

  • Design Film Festival Singapore

  • Minneapolis St. Paul Film Festival

Stills & Supplements