Mission: JOY

A film by Peggy Callahan & Louie Psihoyos

Finding Happiness in Troubled Times

Deeply moving and laugh-out-loud funny, Mission: JOY is a documentary with unprecedented access to the unlikely friendship of two international icons who transcend religion: His Holiness the Dalai Lama and 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

Peggy Callahan & Louie Psihoyos

Producer

Peggy Callahan, Ben Fritz, Michael M. McGuire, and Mark Monroe

Runtime

90 minutes

Rights Represented

Educational Rights, International Rights, Sponsored Screening Licenses Available

Captions Available

English

Language

English

Press

“When you are kind to someone else, you end up being joyful, but why? Because we realize that we are made for goodness.”

- Archbishop Desmond Tutu

“You see, usually everybody seeks happiness – joyfullness – but from outside. From money, from power, from big car, from big house. Ultimate source of happy life – even physical health – inside not outside.”

- His Holiness the Dalai Lama

Festival & Awards

Official Selection – Tribeca Film Festival

Film Licensing

We distribute films globally but we only hold the rights in particular territories in some cases.

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  • In-person screening: This license includes the public performance rights required to host a screening for your group and a DVD copy of the film
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Your Selection
Mission: JOY

Finding Happiness in Troubled Times

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