We had the honor of speaking with the crew behind the feature film The World’s Happiest Man, which was filmed in Akron a few years ago. It stars two-time Oscar nominee Bruce Dern and focuses on the lives of Bhutanese migrants in Northeast Ohio.
Watch the trailer on YouTube and follow the film on Instagram at @theworldshappiestmanfilm.
Enjoy this interview with incredibly thoughtful answers from writer/director Binod Poudel and producers Rajendra Thakurathi, Kirtana Banskota, Amitabh Joshi, and Deepak Gajmer.
What is the film about?
The World’s Happiest Man follows Bishnu Bahadur KC, an aging Bhutanese-Nepali man living in Akron, Ohio, with his extended family. Displaced from his homeland decades ago, he carries one final wish to return to Bhutan before he dies. But as his two sons fall into bitter conflict, it is the tender bond between Bishnu and his granddaughter Gungun that becomes the beating heart of the film. Featuring Bruce Dern. A story of rootlessness, longing, and the love that keeps us whole.
Why did Binod Paudel want to write this story? Where did the inspiration come from?
Several years ago, director Binod Paudel came across a BBC article reporting that Akron, Ohio had become a focal point for a troubling rise in suicides within the Bhutanese-Nepali community. Compelled to understand the despair behind the numbers, he traveled to Akron to meet the community firsthand.
What began as research grew into something deeper as he developed genuine friendships with people across Akron and Ohio, relationships that became the foundation of the film. He was equally drawn to Akron’s identity as the former rubber capital of the world, and how that history of industrial decline mirrored the dislocation felt by his protagonist, Bishnu.
Did you work with any of the Bhutanese migrants in Akron to research and create the film?
At some point, research wasn’t enough. Director Binod Paudel moved his entire family, his wife and children, to Ohio because he needed to truly be part of the community he was writing about. He shared meals, listened to stories, and built real friendships with people whose lives had been shaped by displacement, resilience, and hope. He sat with elders who remembered Bhutan and with young people like Aditi Pyakurel, born in Bhutan and raised in America, who brings that experience to her role as Gungun, granddaughter to Bishnu Bahadur KC.
None of this would have been possible without the generosity of the community itself, and in particular Kaushila Khanal Karmacharya, Bhuwan Pyakurel, and Deepak Gajmer, who opened their lives, their stories, and their hearts to this project, and whose involvement as producers helped shape the film into what it is. This film is an attempt to honor everything they shared.
Rajendra said, “We feel that the film belongs to Akron.” Can you explain why? And, what impact do you think the film will have on migrants who are now living in Akron?
The film is deeply rooted in Akron. Over multiple scouting trips and eventually an extended stay for the production, the streets, homes and corners of Akron stopped being locations and started becoming characters in the story itself. Every location in the film was shot there, and everywhere we went we were welcomed with open arms. We are grateful to Mike Wendt and the Greater Akron and Cleveland Film Commission for their support, and to the many local crew members who brought their talent and knowledge to the production.
But Akron is more than a backdrop. The Bhutanese-Nepali community has woven itself into the fabric of the city. They run businesses, they have built gathering spaces, and they have made Akron home in the fullest sense of the word. The more time we spent in Akron, the more we came to realize just how fully and beautifully this community had made it their own.
There is also a deeper connection. When Bruce Dern’s character speaks about industry leaving Akron, it is not just a detail of place. It echoes something the Bhutanese-Nepali community knows intimately, the loss of identity, the need to hold onto something, the question of what remains when the world you built your life around disappears. Both communities are asking the same questions. That parallel felt essential to the film.
How can people watch the film?
The World’s Happiest Man is now available to watch. Stream it on Tubi, Plex, and Fandango at Home, rent or buy on Amazon and Verizon/Vubiquity, and watch the trailer on YouTube.
How can they support the film and/or the cast and crew?
The best way to support The World’s Happiest Man is simple: watch it, share it, and talk about it. Stream it on your platform of choice, tell your friends and family, and post about it on social media tagging us at @theworldshappiestmanfilm. If the film moves you, a review means more than you know.
Rajendra, what is your connection to Akron?
I came to Akron for the film as a producer. I, along with my producing partners, spent months looking for film locations, assembling crew, collaborating with the locals, and working with local vendors to give life to this film. What started as a film job became much more than that after spending time with the people here who have become good friends and collaborators. I’d love to come back to Akron again.
Does anyone else who worked on the film have an Akron (or Northeast Ohio) connection?
We are deeply grateful to Mike Wendt and the Greater Akron and Cleveland Film Commission for their invaluable support in securing locations and connecting us with local talent. The crew we found in Akron and Ohio brought this film to life, and we are proud to recognize them here.
Key Makeup Artist Lydia Kane First Assistant Camera James Vargo Additional 1st ACs Sam Stephenson, Andrew Fornadel, Jackson Clark, Maris Wirt 2nd AC Bhagat Rizal Gaffer John Turk Additional Gaffer Brian Boyll Key Grip Donnie Schneider Still Photographers Grace Favarro Production Assistants Sarah Parr, Julian Hackel, Emily Gibson, Kevin Vaughn, Samuel Albert Art Assistants Kevin Vaughn Drone Operator Dean Hayashi
Were the cast and crew able to explore any of Akron while they were here?
The Nepali cast and crew came to Akron not knowing quite what to expect, and left not wanting to leave. They wandered the neighborhoods, got to know the local crew, and found themselves genuinely at home in a city they had never visited before. They had hoped for more snow, they will admit that, but what Akron lacked in weather it made up for in people.
There was one moment during a shoot near the Akron Rubber Worker Sculpture when the snow finally did come down, heavy and unexpected, and strangers passing by just stopped. They cheered, they offered help, they stuck around. Nobody asked them to. That moment is not in the film, but in a way it is in every frame of it.
Would you film in Akron again?
Akron welcomed us with open arms and we hope other filmmakers are paying attention. Ohio has so much to offer, and Akron in particular has a grit, a beauty, and a community spirit that translates powerfully on screen. We would encourage any filmmaker looking for an authentic, generous, and visually compelling place to shoot to put Akron at the top of their list.
Are there ways Akronites can better support our Bhutanese-Nepali community members?
To the people of Akron: don’t be a stranger. Walk into a Bhutanese-Nepali restaurant, stop by one of their grocery stores, show up to a community event.
We noticed during production that there is still a distance between communities, and we think it comes down to the unfamiliar. That feeling of “I’m not sure what’s in there” is human, but it shouldn’t stop you.
Because what’s in there is Akron. A community that has claimed this city as their own, that will greet you with the same warmth you’d find anywhere else in town. Go in. Learn something. You might be surprised by how much you have in common.
Is there anything else you’d like to share?
No credit list could do justice to everyone who made this film possible. Dozens of Bhutanese-Nepali community members gave us their time, their homes, their food, and their trust.
It was a scrappy, passionate, communal effort in the truest sense, and we are grateful to every single person who was part of it.
Watch The World’s Happiest Man, now streaming on Tubi, Plex, and Fandango at Home. You can also rent or buy it on Amazon and Verizon/Vubiquity. Watch the trailer on YouTube.
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