Poverty Videos - The Documentary Network Explore the world beyond headlines with amazing videos. Wed, 12 Apr 2017 13:56:29 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.3.5 https://documentary.net/wp-content/themes/documentary/img/documentary-logo.png Documentary Network - Watch free documentaries and films 337 17 Explore the world beyond headlines with amazing videos. Poor Us: An Animated History https://documentary.net/video/poor-us-animated-history/ https://documentary.net/video/poor-us-animated-history/#comments Wed, 21 May 2014 13:26:32 +0000 http://documentary.net/?p=11301

Do we know what poverty is? The poor may always have been with us, but attitudes towards them have changed. Beginning in the Neolithic Age, Ben Lewis's film takes us through the changing world of poverty. You go to sleep, you dream, you become poor through the ages. And when you awake, what can you say about poverty now? There are still very poor people, to be sure, but the new poverty has more to do with inequality... Director Ben Lewis Producer Femke Volting & Bruno Felix Produced by Subma­rine ]]>

Do we know what poverty is? The poor may always have been with us, but attitudes towards them have changed. Beginning in the Neolithic Age, Ben Lewis's film takes us through the changing world of poverty. You go to sleep, you dream, you become poor through the ages. And when you awake, what can you say about poverty now? There are still very poor people, to be sure, but the new poverty has more to do with inequality... Director Ben Lewis Producer Femke Volting & Bruno Felix Produced by Subma­rine ]]> https://documentary.net/video/poor-us-animated-history/feed/ 1 In This Room https://documentary.net/video/in-this-room/ https://documentary.net/video/in-this-room/#comments Tue, 12 Mar 2013 16:40:56 +0000 http://documentary.net/?p=9440

The economic downturn that hit the US economy has left many families struggling. For those who were already living on the edge of economic security the impact of the downturn has been a devastating tipping point.
The first day being in a homeless shelter, I couldn't imagine being there. And to actually being there I was just mad. Its like prison, you can't bring food up to your room, you can't talk to nobody ... it's just all wrong , its hard. Lamont, a 17-year-old high school student
In This Room is a personal look at how one Chicago family, forced into living in a homeless shelter, is navigating through this turmoil. We see this journey through Derrell Gray, a father of four, trying to find a job and restore his family's dignity. He says: "We became homeless when we were evicted from our apartment, the sheriff knocks on the door on the day, and I am very grateful that it was not as traumatic as evictions can be. Not one piece of our belonging was out out on the street. As man and as a father, as a husband to have to say to my wife: We now have nowhere to live." We will also go through this experience with 17-year-old Lamont, who is striving to be seen as just another kid in high school despite his family's homelessness. "I really don't know how we ended up here, the sheriff came to our apartment and we had to pack our bags and leave. The first day being in a homeless shelter, I couldn't imagine being there. And to actually being there I was just mad. It's like prison, you can't bring food up to your room, you can't talk to nobody ... it's just all wrong, its hard," Lamont says. Moreover, we look at the issue of homelessness and evictions from the perspective of young Malachi, who is caught up in the chaos with little grasp of why this happening to the people he loves. He says: "Sometimes I just feel uncomfortable like a whole world full of people, but I feel safe here because there is no shooting, nothing. Where I used to live was a sad place with bad things going all around ... like shooting, then we came to this place, the shelter."]]>

The economic downturn that hit the US economy has left many families struggling. For those who were already living on the edge of economic security the impact of the downturn has been a devastating tipping point.
The first day being in a homeless shelter, I couldn't imagine being there. And to actually being there I was just mad. Its like prison, you can't bring food up to your room, you can't talk to nobody ... it's just all wrong , its hard. Lamont, a 17-year-old high school student
In This Room is a personal look at how one Chicago family, forced into living in a homeless shelter, is navigating through this turmoil. We see this journey through Derrell Gray, a father of four, trying to find a job and restore his family's dignity. He says: "We became homeless when we were evicted from our apartment, the sheriff knocks on the door on the day, and I am very grateful that it was not as traumatic as evictions can be. Not one piece of our belonging was out out on the street. As man and as a father, as a husband to have to say to my wife: We now have nowhere to live." We will also go through this experience with 17-year-old Lamont, who is striving to be seen as just another kid in high school despite his family's homelessness. "I really don't know how we ended up here, the sheriff came to our apartment and we had to pack our bags and leave. The first day being in a homeless shelter, I couldn't imagine being there. And to actually being there I was just mad. It's like prison, you can't bring food up to your room, you can't talk to nobody ... it's just all wrong, its hard," Lamont says. Moreover, we look at the issue of homelessness and evictions from the perspective of young Malachi, who is caught up in the chaos with little grasp of why this happening to the people he loves. He says: "Sometimes I just feel uncomfortable like a whole world full of people, but I feel safe here because there is no shooting, nothing. Where I used to live was a sad place with bad things going all around ... like shooting, then we came to this place, the shelter."]]> https://documentary.net/video/in-this-room/feed/ 1 Cuba: The Times are Changing https://documentary.net/video/cuba-the-times-are-changing/ https://documentary.net/video/cuba-the-times-are-changing/#respond Fri, 02 Sep 2011 11:44:22 +0000 http://documentary.net/?p=2951

At the beginning of this year, the Cuban government took a dramatic step away from its socialist policies of the past to break new ground: it began privatising its economy to create private sector jobs and issued thousands of licences for its citizens to start their own businesses. The ruling party dismissed 500,000 state employees in a bold experiment to boost the state and provide an injection of funds into the stagnant economy. Over half a century since Fidel Castro began a socialist revolution, new reforms will now allow Cubans to open restaurants, sell flowers, run beauty salons and barber shops, and become budding entrepreneurs like never before. But not everyone is convinced that this attempt to overhaul the Soviet-style economic model will bring much needed improvements to the country. Cuba still remains a one party state, poverty is rife, and political reform is not on the agenda. The US trade embargo, lasting five decades, remains firmly in place and sanctions continue to affect its population. Yet for many, these reforms signify a fresh start for Cubans, who are optimistic that this new progressive model may bring the country out of isolation. Filmmaker Rodrigo Vazquez has been examining how these new reforms are affecting ordinary Cubans in this new chapter in the country's history.]]>

At the beginning of this year, the Cuban government took a dramatic step away from its socialist policies of the past to break new ground: it began privatising its economy to create private sector jobs and issued thousands of licences for its citizens to start their own businesses. The ruling party dismissed 500,000 state employees in a bold experiment to boost the state and provide an injection of funds into the stagnant economy. Over half a century since Fidel Castro began a socialist revolution, new reforms will now allow Cubans to open restaurants, sell flowers, run beauty salons and barber shops, and become budding entrepreneurs like never before. But not everyone is convinced that this attempt to overhaul the Soviet-style economic model will bring much needed improvements to the country. Cuba still remains a one party state, poverty is rife, and political reform is not on the agenda. The US trade embargo, lasting five decades, remains firmly in place and sanctions continue to affect its population. Yet for many, these reforms signify a fresh start for Cubans, who are optimistic that this new progressive model may bring the country out of isolation. Filmmaker Rodrigo Vazquez has been examining how these new reforms are affecting ordinary Cubans in this new chapter in the country's history.]]> https://documentary.net/video/cuba-the-times-are-changing/feed/ 0 The End of Poverty https://documentary.net/video/the-end-of-poverty/ https://documentary.net/video/the-end-of-poverty/#comments Tue, 12 Apr 2011 05:37:51 +0000 http://documentary.net/?p=964

The aphorism "The poor are always with us" dates back to the New Testament, but while the phrase is still sadly apt in the 21st century, few seem to be able to explain why poverty is so widespread. Activist filmmaker Philippe Diaz examines the history and impact of economic inequality in the third world in the documentary The End of Poverty, and makes the compelling argument that it's not an accident or simple bad luck that has created a growing underclass around the world. Diaz traces the growth of global poverty back to colonization in the 15th century, and features interviews with a number of economists, sociologists, and historians who explain how poverty is the clear consequence of free-market economic policies that allow powerful nations to exploit poorer countries for their assets and keep money in the hands of the wealthy rather than distributing it more equitably to the people who have helped them gain their fortunes. Diaz also explores how wealthy nations (especially the United States) seize a disproportionate share of the world's natural resources, and how this imbalance is having a dire impact on the environment as well as the economy. The End of Poverty was an official selection at the 2008 Cannes Film Festival.]]>

The aphorism "The poor are always with us" dates back to the New Testament, but while the phrase is still sadly apt in the 21st century, few seem to be able to explain why poverty is so widespread. Activist filmmaker Philippe Diaz examines the history and impact of economic inequality in the third world in the documentary The End of Poverty, and makes the compelling argument that it's not an accident or simple bad luck that has created a growing underclass around the world. Diaz traces the growth of global poverty back to colonization in the 15th century, and features interviews with a number of economists, sociologists, and historians who explain how poverty is the clear consequence of free-market economic policies that allow powerful nations to exploit poorer countries for their assets and keep money in the hands of the wealthy rather than distributing it more equitably to the people who have helped them gain their fortunes. Diaz also explores how wealthy nations (especially the United States) seize a disproportionate share of the world's natural resources, and how this imbalance is having a dire impact on the environment as well as the economy. The End of Poverty was an official selection at the 2008 Cannes Film Festival.]]> https://documentary.net/video/the-end-of-poverty/feed/ 1