The Art of Being Human: 2027
Have we become so busy building a life that we've forgotten how to live it? A journey to discover whether a successful life and a meaningful life can coexist.
When burnout forced her to question everything she thought success should look like, author and worklife balance expert Jess Stuart set out on a global journey to discover whether there is a better way to live. She spent a decade telling the world to slow down. Now, with her own health and identity on the line, she turns the camera on herself to find out if she believes it.
A powerful, timely documentary exploring a radical idea in an overwhelmed world: that less is more, and being is just as important as doing.
In a world addicted to busyness, success, and screen time, The Art of Being Human invites us to slow down, reconnect, and rediscover what it means to be truly human.
Follow along on our social media channels to access behind the scenes footage and we shoot throughout 2026.
Amid rising burnout, loneliness, AI anxiety, and disconnection, we capture a global longing for peace, meaning, and authenticity. Drawing from ancient wisdom, modern science, and personal transformation stories, this documentary offers an antidote to chaos and a roadmap for thriving.
What if the secret to success wasn’t more… but less? In this global journey, Jess Stuart explores how different cultures define and live contentment, uncovering rituals, wisdom, and mindsets that help us reclaim calm in a chaotic world.
In a world obsessed with hustle, productivity, and performance, this timely documentary is the quiet revolution we didn’t know we needed.
The Art of Being Human follows Jess Stuart, a global burnout expert with eight books and a career built on teaching people to slow down, as she feels her own burnout creeping back. So she does the only thing she knows how to do: turns her unravelling into a public experiment. She travels from Aotearoa to Japan to Europe, testing whether ancient wisdom can solve a very modern problem, with everything; her credibility, her health, her career, on the line. It's part confession, part pilgrimage, asking the question millions are quietly asking themselves: in a world addicted to more, could the real answer be less?
Through conversations with neuroscientists, monks, athletes, globally renowned authors, and everyday humans, Jess explores how we find meaning beyond success, status, and external validation and how humans might thrive in an uncertain, ever changing future. This is not just a film. It’s a movement. One that invites us to redefine success, reimagine fulfilment, and reclaim the lost art of simply being.
We have never been more connected, productive, or successful. So why are so many of us exhausted, lonely and unfulfilled?
Can ambition and capacity coexist? Or is "having it all" always going to cost something?
What does it mean to be human in a world that never stops?
Is modern progress costing us the stuff that really matters?
Is burnout an individual failing, or a symptom of a system that values what we do over who we are?
What can ancient wisdom teach a culture addicted to busyness, speed, and screens?
Why are so many successful people struggling despite achieving more than ever before?
How do we find meaning beyond success, status, and external validation?
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Narrated by and featuring Jess Stuart
International speaker, coach and author of eight personal development books. Mindset, leadership and gender balance expert with 15 years in HR and a background in the corporate world working with leaders across many countries and industries. A brush with burnout in her corporate career led Jess across the world to train with Buddhist monks and nuns. Highly acclaimed event speaker and proud member of the rainbow community. Experienced on camera and in the media, regularly featured on national and international TV and in print. Sought after global speaker and podcast host.
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Seeking partners, funders, and production allies to bring this global story to life.
