# Happy City, The

Sponsored by the Pontifical Institute for Foreign Missions, Bill Deneen traveled three days by bullock cart to the remote Keng Tung Leprosy Colony (today called Naung Kan) run by Father Cesare Columbo in Kengtung (Kyiang Tong), Burma. Intended to be used for fundraising, the film is a fascinating documentary about a humanitarian effort that would soon be terminated by the Burmese government. Shortly after the film was made, Columbo was deported, never to return. He is still fondly remembered by the people running the colony, and a small office, with his picture and surgical instruments, still remains. The film discusses the work of Father Colombo as priest, doctor, bricklayer and guiding hand of Kengtung, and featured Bill Deneen himself greeted by a row of patients. The story of how this film was made is documented in Jean Maddern Pittrone’s 1970 book “The Touch of His Hand: Columbo, A Modern Day Damien in Burma,”pp. 121-136. In mid-2003, AFA director Geoff Alexander went to Kengtung, Burma, to see what had become of the hospital and programs. Here is his report: "Kengtung (Kyiang Tong) is best accessed by air, as much of the surrounding area is essentially a war-zone, populated by armies from Burma, separatist movements, and drug traders. The city itself has no electricity for much of the day and night, and a cold beer is not to be found here. I took a motorcycle taxi to the Catholic mission, and asked for the person in charge, who happened to be, at the moment, Vicar…

- Kind: Educational
- Year: 1959
- Runtime: 36 min
- By: William Deneen Productions
- Genres: Education
- Archive: [Internet Archive](https://archive.org/details/happy_city)
- Licence or status: none stated by the archive
- Who can watch: Adult profiles and older (the archive gives no rating; placed by Invisible Network from its collection and subjects)

[Watch now](https://invisiblenetwork.ai/watch/archive/ia/happy_city?play=1)