A Synopsis

Everyone wants to be happy — it’s a universal quest. But what does that really mean? Is your road to happiness different from mine? Project Happiness introduces us to students on three continents spending their last year of high school working together to explore the nature of lasting happiness. From the alleys of Nigeria and the beaches of California to the mountains of India, they are ordinary kids on an extraordinary journey.

While it starts in the classroom, Project Happiness quickly leaves lectures and textbooks behind. In addition to connecting with one another, the students engage in conversations with the groundbreaking neuroscientist Richard Davidson and cultural icons Richard Gere and George Lucas. At the end of their senior year the three groups of students converge on Dharamsala, India for a rare private interview with the Dalai Lama—an event that brings more questions than answers and marks the start of a new chapter in their lives

Out of all of the young people participating in the project, the film focuses on four students at a small school near Santa Cruz, California called Mount Madonna. Each faces personal obstacles to lasting happiness: ghosts from their past, loss, alienation, and the everyday challenges of being a teenager passing into adulthood

Luke is a fan of sci-fi and anime and like many teenagers is simply trying to discover the adult he will become. Nina took the initiative to leave public school for Mount Madonna but confronts the stresses that decision puts on her father and the questions she asks of herself. Kristen came to the school later than most in her class and is struggling to overcome a deep personal loss and connect with the world around her. Prabha grew up in an Indian orphanage and arrived in the US when she was fifteen. She is trying to find her way through an alien culture and make peace with a troubled past. Their teacher Ward Mailliard guides his small class of 14 seniors through the difficulties of a project that aims to connect students separated by thousands of miles

In Nigeria, teachers struggle to afford chalk and textbooks. The electricity is on for only a few hours at a time and corruption is rampant. In the midst of daily chaos, Emmanuel Ivorgba, Principal of Dominion Heritage Academy, envisions the great potential of his many students. With few resources, he is attempting nothing less than the transformation of his society, one by one. Two of his students, Mercy and Faith join him on the journey to India, but it is Emmanuel whose life is changed forever

Tibetans living in exile in Dharamsala, India face a fragmented culture threatened with extinction. Rebellious teacher Yeshi Khando wants her students at the Tibetan Children’s Village to honor their heritage and at the same time break out of a structured way of learning in order to cultivate their individual abilities and succeed on their own terms. She says, “We are like frogs in a well and we must escape from the well.”

Regardless of the challenges that separate their societies, the students and teachers all share the same basic questions: Who am I? What do I want to do with my life? What prevents me from being happy? Can I change who I am? Can I make a difference in the world?

Shot in high definition, Project Happiness combines vérité-style camera work with epic vistas. Mixing formats and shooting styles, the film conveys the ephemeral feeling of happiness found in both the profound and the mundane. Juxtaposing the soaring Himalayan Mountains with unguarded moments of young people at school and home, the camera is not a passive observer, but actively engaged with the kids and bearing witness to their lives at a crossroads

Project Happiness is only the beginning of a larger campaign to bring people from around the world into a conversation about what is meaningful and important in all our lives. When founder Randy Taran launched the project, she envisioned a film, a website and a curriculum inspired by kids for kids. No one knew just how far the project would actually go. Today, the number of schools and countries continues to expand, as the message of happiness touches more people

For the students involved in the film, this was the journey of a lifetime. For educators, this is an opportunity to inspire connections within their students, themselves and their communities. For the world, it is an opportunity to see through the eyes of young people what is most important in the human quest for lasting happiness

The issue of happiness is really complex. Just when you think you’ve figured it out, it may seem to slip away. But we are all “a work in progress.” At the end of the day, happiness is a choice, change is always possible and by changing ourselves we can change the world. Project Happiness uncovers the potential for happiness in us all