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About this Film
Ava, a despondent empty nester, finds herself at the Halo Happiness Retreat in Iceland, run by Isak, an Icelandic optimist who is challenged by Ava’s resistance. Isak’s wellness technique succeeds in unexpected ways, allowing Ava to rediscover a passion she abandoned years ago. This comedic short film is inspired by the Icelandic proverb “petta reddast” – meaning, it will work out — and series like Shrinking and White Lotus (without the body count – or the budget). The Happiness Intervention shines a light, with humor and heart, on the never ending search for our elusive happiness.
Director’s Statement
How do we find the courage to pick up a long-lost dream when we’ve spent a lifetime convinced that our window of opportunity has already slammed shut? In The Happiness Intervention, I wanted to explore the paralysis of the “empty nest” through the eyes of Ava, a former musician who feels her window for success has long since closed.
The film’s location was an essential character in this exploration. After visiting Iceland and learning it consistently ranks at the top of the World Happiness Report, I became obsessed with a question: What if there was a place loved ones could send you specifically to find joy?
When Ava attends a “happiness” retreat that is as much a work-in-progress as its guide, whose optimism masks his own desperation, we find a comedic and poignant truth: we are all works in progress. On a personal level, this film mirrors my own transition from the writers’ room to the director’s chair; just as Ava had to brave an unfamiliar landscape to reclaim her voice, I had to embrace the messy, vulnerable process of directing for the first time to find my own. The Happiness Intervention aims to challenge the fear of failure and capture the beauty of the detour, shifting the focus from the destination of “happiness” to embracing the ride of simply trying.
The Story’s Song
Ava’s journey mirrors the completion of a song she began years earlier, during her time at Juilliard. As Ava moves through the retreat experience, fragments of that unfinished piece emerge, allowing the audience to experience its composition alongside her emotional transformation. By the film’s end, the song becomes a reflection of something larger: not perfection, but the courage to begin again.
The film’s original song, Work-in-Progress, and accompanying score were written by Levina, a German-born, London-based alternative pop artist whose work blends emotional lyricism with soul-inspired influences. Described by Wonderland as a “spellbinding sonic force,” Levina creates music that feels intimate, haunting, and deeply human. With Work-in-Progress, she captures the emotional landscape of the film—its uncertainty, hope, and quiet rediscovery—giving voice to Ava’s journey in a way dialogue alone could not.
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