ABOUT THE FILM

LOGLINE

Deeply moving and laugh-out-loud funny, His Holiness the Dalai Lama and Archbishop Desmond Tutu share science-backed wisdom of how to live with joy in troubled times.

LONG SYNOPSIS

Academy Award^®-winning director Louie Psihoyos teams up with co-director Peggy Callahan on MISSION: JOY – FINDING HAPPINESS IN TROUBLED TIMES, a documentary with unprecedented access to the unlikely friendship of two international icons who transcend religion: His Holiness the Dalai Lama & Archbishop Tutu. In their final joint mission, these self-described mischievous brothers give a master class in how to create joy in a world that was never easy for them. They offer neuroscience-backed wisdom to help each of us live with more joy, despite circumstances.

Inspired by New York Times bestseller The Book of Joy: Lasting Happiness in a Changing World, the film showcases the exchange between these two Nobel Peace Prize winners that led to that book. Consisting largely of never-before-seen footage shot over 5 days at the Dalai Lama’s residence in Dharamsala, the film invites viewers to join these luminaries behind the scenes as they recount stories from their lives, each having lived through periods of incredible difficulty and strife. With genuine affection, mutual respect and a healthy dose of teasing, these unlikely friends impart lessons gleaned from lived experience, ancient traditions, and the latest cutting-edge science regarding how to live with joy in the face of all of life’s challenges from the extraordinary to the mundane. MISSION: JOY is an antidote for the times.

Director Louie Psihoyos Co-Director Peggy Callahan

Producers Peggy Callahan, Mark Monroe

Executive Producers Geralyn Dreyfous, Regina K. Scully, Orly Ravid, Darla Anderson, Damien De Froberville, Susan Bauer-Wu, Rip Gellein, Paulo Lima, Connie Kemmerer, The Gael Foundation, Joni Winston, Tommee May, Jessie Creel, Louie Psihoyos, Peggy Callahan, Mari Snyder Johnson, Shannon O’Leary Joy, Jane Kachmer, Jamie Drummond, Bridgit Lombard, Pam Omidyar, Shannon Sedgwick Davis, Mpho Tutu van Furth, Thupten Jinpa Langri, Doug Abrams

Co-Producer John Negropontes

Editors Andrew Buckland, Joshua Altman, Barry O Donnell, Matt Stamm

Music Dominic Messinger

Cast His Holiness the Dalai Lama, Archbishop Desmond Tutu, Thupten Jinpa Langri, Mpho Tutu van Furth, Doug Abrams, Sonja Lyubomirsky, Richie Davidson

FESTIVALS
2021: Tribeca (World Premiere)

AVAILABLE TERRITORIES
The World

EXHIBITION FORMATS
DCP, Digital Download