Kickstarter

Happiness.  People try to sell it, people try to buy it, and everybody seems to be looking for it, all of the time. It's safe to say that happiness is the one thing we all want… yet we never seem to get it for very long.  Around the world we are earning more, living longer, and we aren’t happier.  What is going on with happiness?

This issue deserves a closer examination, but not through a broad survey of the "state of things".  Making a film about "happiness" can be akin to making a movie "on life."  The subject is so enormous that filmmakers are in danger of getting lost in it.  In our experience, investigations that linger and stories that stick tend to focus on characters -- in this case, people pursuing happiness.  So, we are pursuing the happiness question through the unique lens of one person searching for it, and experimenting on himself.

The guinea pig - the film's co-Director and subject, Stefan Sagmeister.  His accomplice - documentary filmmaker Hillman Curtis.

Their pursuit: "The Happy Film"

The Story 

"The Happy Film" centers around our main subject, Stefan Sagmeister, a New York-based graphic designer known for his rock n roll collaborations and typography. In the course of a year, Sagmeister will experiment with various practices that are widely touted as increasing one’s happiness: meditation, cognitive therapy, and pharmaceuticals.

The documentary will test these various methods during 3 x 3-month experiment periods.  The production team will work closely with a group of health professionals to properly assess Sagmeister’s well-being. Our health partners will monitor Stefan prior to the experiments, as well as participate in occasional check-ups during the course of our 9-month study.

Throughout the film, Sagmeister’s maxims, by way of the book “Things I Have Learned in My Life So Far”, will function as typographical set pieces that related to the ongoing experiments.

Where We Are

We are actively producing this film.  A contribution to "The Happy Film" at this stage will have a measurable impact on the film's outcome.  To date, we've shot approximately 40% of our footage.  Sagmeister spent 3 months in Bali where he underwent an intensive meditation period.  His trip was book-ended by fMRI lab visits and psychological surveys.  Our documentary team was there to track his experience, as well as film a never-before-seen maxim.  Sagmeister has returned, and is now starting a 3-month experiment in cognitive behavioral therapy, followed by a 3-month experiment with SSRI's.  These experiment phases will be heavily documented and will contain extensive medical supervision, leading to some new costs for our team. 

To Learn more about the film

• Watch Sagmeister's 2009 TEDtalk,"The Power of Time Off". 
• Read the maxims in the 2008 book "Things I've Learned in My Life So Far".
• Read recent articles about the project in The Atlantic and Salon.com
  

The Team

Stefan Sagmeister is a 2-time Grammy Award winning graphic designer, and founder of the studio Sagmeister Inc.  He is co-directing the short with filmmaker Hillman Curtis.  Hillman's most recent documentary is "Ride, Rise, Roar", a film about David Byrne.    Ben Nabors is a New York-based non-fiction producer and runs the production studio {group theory}.