Laughology (2009)

Laughology is a 2009 documentary film about the contagiousness of human laughter by Canadian filmmaker and Laughologist Albert Nerenberg. It is the first feature-length documentary about laughter. The documentary makes the case that laughter is the original peace signal and the human ability to share and transmit laughter may have been key to the rise of human civilization. The film chronicles unusual laughter phenomenon such as Holy Laughter, Laughter Parties and the Tanzanian Laughter Epidemic. The film is produced by Elevator Films which operates out of Lac Brome, Quebec, and Cache Film and Television. The film made its world premiere at HotDocs Film Festival in Toronto.

Synopsis

Laughology tells the story of how Nerenberg became a Laughologist following a family tragedy and reveals new information about the nature of laughter. Nerenberg travels from Canada to the United States, India, London, and Tanzania in search of his laugh. Some of the elements of the film were chronicled in Nerenberg’s popular series in the Montreal Gazette on Positivity. The film also claims to have found the man with the world's most contagious laugh, Doug Collins. In the film, Collins travels with Nerenberg to London England where the science behind his laugh is tested by the neuroscientific team responsible for proving that laughter is contagious.