7 Best Movies About Development That You Should Watching Update 04/2024

Movies About Development

1. Poverty, Inc.

Poverty, Inc.

As the title suggests, Poverty, Inc. is a documentary that explores the underbelly of development assistance. More than 150 interviews with prominent assistance organizations and development professionals from around the world and in 20 different nations were conducted for this project, which spanned four years and 20 different countries. The multi-billion-dollar market for NGOs, for-profit contractors, and international agencies engaging in development is specifically examined and exposed. This film tackles the question, are we the problem? in a time when foreign aid has actually increased poverty.

2. Good Fortune

Good Fortune examines the ineffectiveness of Western aid non Africa in reducing poverty and fostering social cohesion. According to those who are opposed to foreign aid and development initiatives in Kenya, they would harm their communities rather than help them. This documentary is filmed from their point of view.” Slum-upgrading efforts implemented by the Kenyan government and the United Nations are examined in this film. However, in the past, housing was used for profit in earlier ventures. Even if they fail, these individuals are giving a wake-up message to the international development community by working to defend their livelihoods.

3. Half the Sky

Half the Sky

In the documentary Half the Sky, Nicholas Kristof travels to ten nations with a group of well-known activists in search of inspirational women. A wide range of issues, including trafficking, prostitution, violence, discrimination and economic inequality, are examined in the film. An investigation into women’s efforts to improve their lives is also part of the goal of the book. Women and girls’ daily struggles are the focus of this film, which aims to put names and faces to the numbers. It also aims to illustrate the perseverance and fortitude of these women, who are striving tirelessly to improve their own lives and those of their children.

4. Life and Debt

Life and Debt examines the lives of Jamaicans whose lives are influenced by the economic policies of the United States and other countries. Many factory workers who spoke out against low wages and poor working conditions suffered unemployment and blacklisting as a result of their protests are featured in the documentary. There’s also an investigation into a local chicken company, where the product is undercut by lower-quality chicken imported from the United States. Additionally, the video examines the banana industry and the competition between the United Kingdom and the United States in the banana market. The unanticipated decrease in milk output in Jamaica as a result of Western trade policies and practices is also highlighted. The IMF and World Bank’s efforts to increase Jamaica’s economic prosperity have resulted in greater disparity, as shown in the documentary Life and Debt, which aims to show the hardships and challenges that have been placed on the country’s once-thriving industries as a result of Western trade policies and practices.

5. Beyond Good Intentions

Beyond Good Intentions

The film Beyond Good Intentions, which is based on the book of the same name, investigates what actually works and what doesn’t in international charity. With locations in eight nations, this short film series hopes to spark an important debate regarding the efficacy of humanitarian help and global development. The films follow Tori Hogan as she talks with charity workers and community people in Colombia, Argentina, Indonesia, Cambodia, India, Madagascar, Mozambique, and South Africa to discuss the role of help. It’s her mission to find out which development practices actually work and which ones are merely well-intentioned but fail to make a real difference in the lives of the world’s most marginalized people. It is the purpose of the film series to create a debate and move towards change in international development techniques and organizations.

6. Girl Rising

There are nine girls featured in Girl Rising, each from a different country: Cambodia, Haiti, Nepal, Egypt, Ethiopia, India, Peru, Sierra Leone. Each of them strives to attain their goals despite the challenges they face. Furthermore, it emphasizes that these girls’ desire to make a difference sprang from an education and the strength of their human spirit. Education for girls in underdeveloped countries is highlighted in the film, and viewers are encouraged to support organizations that are striving to ensure that these girls are safe, educated, and healthy.

7. Moolaadé

Moolaadé

Senegalese film Moolaadé deals with the problem of female genital mutilation in French. She fights to stop her own village from practicing female genital mutilation in Burkina Faso. To safeguard herself, her family, and four other small girls who are also refusing to have their hair cut because of their religious beliefs, Collé develops a mystical potion that will shield them from any harm. Because he received an education and has an open mind in France, Collé’s daughter’s fiancé even joins the demonstration. Collé eventually rallies a large number of the village’s female residents against this barbaric behavior after waging a protracted battle against the community.