THE SEARCH FOR HAPPINESS

The geographical thread of this TV series is the Tropic of Cancer, which cuts through countries, among which the differences couldn’t be greater. Southern China, Hawaii, deserts in Mali and finally Calcutta in India.

The “heroes” of the films are rich and poor, alone and in love, old and young. They are Muslim, Christian, Hindu or Buddhist – but still, they all have one in common: Each of them is on a personal journey, on the search for happiness.

The series of Annette Dittert was awarded two Adolf-Grimme-Awards and was nominated for the International Emmy in 2006.

Episode 1
Mali – one of the poorest countries in the world. Two thirds of the country is made up of the Sahara Desert. More than half the people are illiterate. Out of a thousand of children born, more than two hundred die in the first five years of their lives. What does happiness mean to the people in this country?Diko is a nomad, a man of the Tuareg tribe. For eight years Diko has been forced to live in Mopti, a lively river port in central Mali, because he cannot survive in his home, the desert, any more. Civil war, rebellions and catastrophic droughts have driven him, as they have so many Tuareg, to Mali’s cities.

But he hasn’t found happiness here. All the people, the noise and the dirt have made his longing for the desert more and more intense. Since learning that the wells in the Sahara have water again and with the little bit of money he earned on the salt trade, the idea of returning

Episode 2
Calcutta - the city in India you least expect to find happiness. A city of wretched poverty, slums, an inconceivable amount of people. What a challenge trying to find happiness here of all places!But thousands of people descend on the city on the Hugli River from the country every day in search of a better life. One of them is Hussein. His parents sent him away from their provincial village at the age of twelve, too poor to be able to feed their son themselves. From now on he’ll have to look after himself - in Calcutta, where a family uncle lives. This uncle has a brass band that plays at weddings and street festivals. Hussein is expected to play the maracas. But life as a musician is hard in Calcutta. They rehearse during the day and perform at night – every day of the week. Those who can’t keep up might get fired; after all, there are thousands of children waiting for an opportunity like this. Hussein will have to fight to survive; every day children arrive in the slums of Calcutta without work, without a roof over their heads and with nothing to eat

Episode 3
Hawaii – paradise on Earth. People who live here have everything they need to be happy.
But not Michelle. Her fiancée is in prison for dealing drugs. Michelle has been working as a waitress to support their son ever since. Five days a week she toils away from noon to night in the local Boys Café. These days she’s almost forgotten the woman she was before Frank was sent to prison: singer in a rock band. Every weekend she used to be on stage and it was during one of these appearances that Frank fell in love with her. That was more than 20 years ago. But since then things kept going wrong. Frank discovered drugs and ended up behind bars – again and again.
This time Frank has been in for three years. But this time he’s made use of the time: he’s finished with drugs and has become the model inmate while in prison. Frank is up for bail soon – his only chance for freedom.
A time of hope and worry for Michelle. And a tense time for Annette Dittert, who didn’t leave Michelle’s and Frank’s side for four weeks, who was allowed to be there and film during the pivotal moments in prison.

Episode 4
China – Land of new beginnings, land of contrasts. 1.3 billion people live there – many of them dream the dream: the glittering career, making money fast. But not all of China’s inhabitants have arrived in this China yet.
Lao Li (75) and Lao Jiang (83) are friends. They have spent their whole life in a village on a mountain in the South Chinese province of Fujian. Here they cultivate rice and tea. They haven’t seen much of the radical change that is taking hold of the country yet. Lao Li has been to Shanghai once in his life – a long time ago, with the Party. Back then he swore he’d come back, next time off his own back and with enough time to explore and discover the city. His friend, old Mr Jiang, has never been to the city with the beautiful-sounding name meaning “on the sea”. But he dreams of it. So, they set off together for this other China, the new China. It’s about 700 kilometres from their home village to Shanghai. And the closer they get to the city, the more modern the country becomes. Rice fields make way for industrial zones, ultra-modern trains replace rickety old country buses. Villages give way to modern high-rise complexes and as such this trip becomes a journey from the old China, almost a thing of the past, to a journey into the future. Annette Dittert and her team accompany the two old men on their travels from Fujian to Shanghai.