Are You Happy? (2007)

Run Time - 52 min.  |   Countries - Iran  |  
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Synopsis by Mark Deming

Iran is a nation that lives in the shadow of chaos and controversy most of the time, and most people in the West have a hard time thinking of its citizens in terms of the nuts and bolts of an ordinary life. Filmmaker Ali Tamadon has given viewers a new perspective on the average Iranian by asking them a simple question in the documentary Are You Happy?. Tamadon and his camera crew visited a number of homes in the cities of Tehran and Esfahan and asked the members of each household "Are you happy?" and allowing them to elaborate as they saw fit. Some claim to be content but clearly are not, while others find their own happiness is sometimes troubling to their children or spouses. As Tamadon allows his subjects to talk about the ups and downs of their lives, he paints a subtle but eloquent picture of the pleasures and disappointments that are part of each person's life. Are You Happy? was an official selection at the 2008 London International Documentary Film Festival.