The Happiness Machine

"The Happiness Machine" is a documentary short by Rebecca Blumhagen about an inventor in rural Iowa exploring what it means to pass on the gift of place. It has screened at 27 festivals across the world since premiering at Cinequest Film & VR Festival in Spring 2018, including DOCNYC, America’s largest documentary festival. It has won 13 awards, including 5 Best Documentary Short Jury awards, Audience awards at 3 festivals (including Heartland Film Festival’s Indy Shorts), and the distinction of being runner-up in the Oscar-Qualifying Short Documentary Jury award at the Cleveland International Film Festival. It will have its broadcast premiere on Iowa Public Television on March 7, 2019.

The Happiness Machine (Teaser)

Carl grew up a sharecropper on 22 acres in rural Iowa, which he now calls The Promised Land. A philosopher, inventor, and farmer, he shares with us the deeply intricate workings of his projects, (including a full span bridge he built with his hands), how they are connected to the land which was given to him as a promise, and what he hopes to pass on to his children as the gift of place.