Short Films
Short documentaries by filmmakers from all around the world. The films are free to watch and embed. You can also download them for free on our Vimeo channel.
Miseducation
South Africa: What would you risk to get an education?
shown on TV by:What’s your walk to school like when, everyday, you have to cross one of the poorest parts of South Africa to get to class? Watch the film now or download it from our Vimeo channel.
Lullaby
Germany: do the poor sleep well?
shown on TV by:Berlin’s Deutsche Bank building is impressive. The cash machine is well protected and warm. But on a cold night, you have to step over the rough sleepers to get to your money. Watch the film now or download it from our Vimeo channel.
In Your Hands
Colombia: surrounded by violence, what do you do?
shown on TV by:In a place where violence is rife and gang membership is a normal way to defend your neighbourhood, what path would you take? Watch the film now or download it from our Vimeo channel.
Poop on Poverty
India: great photo opportunity or harsh reality?
shown on TV by:Every winter Pushkar, in India, holds the world’s biggest camel fair. The chance to take some great photos? Or to get your hands on a load of camel droppings? Watch the film now or download it from our Vimeo channel.
Morris’ Bag
Kenya: can you feed a family out of bag?
shown on TV by:Morris lives in Kibera, one of the largest slums in Kenya’s capital Nairobi. Life there is difficult but through the marvels of urban farming and the creative use of an old sack, find out how Morris is able to feed his family all year round. Watch the film now or download it from our Vimeo channel.
Love and Rubbish
Russia: if you live in poverty, can you afford to dream?
shown on TV by:An estimated five million people are homeless in Russia; one million of them are children. This film takes an unflinching yet poignant look at the lives of a group of children living on a rubbish dump outside of Moscow, showing the hardships they face and the dreams they hold on to. Watch the film now or download it from our Vimeo channel.
The Thread
Uruguay: can microfinance fix a 15th birthday?
shown on TV by:Throughout Latin America, a girl’s 15th birthday marks her coming of age and is celebrated in style.It’s a celebration that many poor rural families can ill-afford, the cost of the girl’s dress alone is often prohibitive. Watch the film now or download it from our Vimeo channel.
God is Rain
Kenya: what happens when the water runs out?
shown on TV by:Around 500,000 people rely on Lake Turkana for fishing and for water for their crops and cattle. But the lake is drying up and communities are fighting to survive. "They kill each other because of grass and water," says one man. Watch the film now or download it from our Vimeo channel.
Town and Country
China: is the grass always greener?
shown on TV by:In China there is a vast gap between town and country - between those that grow up and go to school in rural or urban areas. Even the youngest kids know this and they are not shy to tell you. Watch the film now or download it from our Vimeo channel.
Colours in the Dust
Haiti: can a boy paint his way out of poverty?
shown on TV by:1.5 million Haitians were left homeless by the earthquake. Jouvens Latour was one of them. He's only twelve. He sees the world with the clarity of a child - and an artist. Watch the film now or download it from our Vimeo channel.
Afghan Girl
Afghanistan: Teacher? Engineer? Shepherd?
shown on TV by:A young girl is herding sheep. Why isn’t she at school? Watch the film now or download it from our Vimeo channel.
Waste
Global: why can't we feed the world?
shown on TV by:Why do more than one billion people go hungry? What happens to all the food? It's not that we don't have enough of it but that around a third of it gets thrown away. Watch the film now or download it from our Vimeo channel.
Wilbur Goes Poor: Episode 1
India: is this poverty?
shown on TV by:Wilbur Sargunaraj, India's first Youtube star, takes us on an enlightening and irreverent journey through what poverty means in India. Watch the film now or download it from our Vimeo channel.
Wilbur Goes Poor: Episode 2
India: caste - a cause of poverty and discrimination?
shown on TV by:In Episode 2, Wilbur asks what causes poverty? He shows how the caste system in India creates a system that is "not very first class". There is inequality, he says, but to make the world a better place you have to take action. Watch the film now or download it from our Vimeo channel.
Wilbur Goes Poor: Episode 3
India: how do YOU deal with poverty?
shown on TV by:Wilbur Sargunaraj on how to help the poor live live in a better world. Caution: contains singing. Watch the film now or download it from our Vimeo channel.
Finding Josephine
Uganda: who benefits from charity?
shown on TV by:For the last three years, Tomas and his family have been sponsoring a little girl in Uganda. Is this relationship making a real difference to her life or just making them feel good? Watch the film now or download it from our Vimeo channel.
Hunger for Profit
USA/Kenya: how can you make money out of hunger?
shown on TV by:On one side of the world American star investor Jim Rogers arrives at his elegant offices and explains how large investments and movements of money affect prices. On the other side of the world market vendors in Kenya feel the effects. Watch the film now or download it from our Vimeo channel.
The Crisis and the Sunglasses
Greece: is anyone safe from poverty?
shown on TV by:As the European dream fades, the economic crisis brings new poverty to the people of Athens. How will they survive as their society crumbles? Watch the film now or download it from our Vimeo channel.
Voices: Bolivia
Bolivia: what do you have in your heart?
shown on TV by:Take a green screen studio, built inside a tent, to any place in the world. Then start collecting stories by asking random bypassers: what do you have in your heart? Watch the film now or download it from our Vimeo channel.
Coal Boy
India: digging to the other end of the world?
shown on TV by:In the Jaintia Hills of northeast India, a young boy descends everyday into the 'rathole' coalmines. He works in these hard and dangerous conditions, so he can support his family. Watch the film now or download it from our Vimeo channel.
OK brothers
India: worst job in the world?
shown on TV by:An animated look at twin brothers with one of the worst jobs in the world. 660 million Indians lack toilets, and defecate in the open everyday. Somebody's got to clear up after them. Watch the film now or download it from our Vimeo channel.
Sea Gypsies
Malaysia: the cost of tourism?
shown on TV by:This short film follows the life and fortunes of Indanina and her family over two years as they are forced to give up their traditional sea-gypsy way of life and move to the city to survive. Watch the film now or download it from our Vimeo channel.
Voices: South Africa
South Africa: what keeps you going?
shown on TV by:Take a green screen studio, built inside a tent, to any place in the world. Then start collecting stories by asking bypassers to tell you their tales. Watch the film now or download it from our Vimeo channel.
The Barrel
Venezuela: sink or swim?
shown on TV by:Luis is 13 and lives on a floating village in the middle of the Maracaibo Lake, one of the main oil reserves in Venezuela. What he wants, more than anything, is a used oil barrel so he can make a boat and enter a race that will see him accepted by the older kids. Watch the film now or download it from our Vimeo channel.
A Beggar's Loan
Bangladesh: from begging to business?
shown on TV by:Since 1976, the Grameen Bank has made small loans to nearly 8.5m women. Chabna is one fo them. Watch the film now or download it from our Vimeo channel.
Mama Illegal
Moldova: love or money?
shown on TV by:Would you leave your family behind to find work? Unemployment in some of Moldava's rural areas is as high as 80 percent. Watch the film now or download it from our Vimeo channel.
New Poor
Spain: who are the new poor?
shown on TV by:Paco Pascual used to run one of Spain's top refurbishment firms, a large family business he and his brothers made successful by winnning lucrative government contracts. Watch the film now or download it from our Vimeo channel.
Mauá Surroundings
Brazil: a new way to fight homelessness
shown on TV by:There are 450,000 empty properties São Paulo. A new movement is reclaiming them for families. It’s a battle that pitches people’s rights to homes against the rights of home owners. Watch the film now or download it from our Vimeo channel.
The Car's Got To Go
UK: I've come about your car...
shown on TV by:What would you do if someone knocked on your door and said they'd come to take away your car? Watch the film now or download it from our Vimeo channel.
Holiday From Poverty
UK: Imagine you'd never been on holiday
shown on TV by:Poor families might not be starving in the UK, but in a culture where most people have more than you, being poor is isolating and shaming, "People look down on you for being poor." Watch the film now or download it from our Vimeo channel.
Birhan's Story
Ethiopia: The “Poster Girl for Starvation”
shown on TV by:Birhan Woldu’s picture was beamed round the world during Live Aid. It was a horrifying image of a child starving to death – probably dead already – that should shock the audience to action. But against all odds. Watch the film now or download it from our Vimeo channel.
Whose Land?
Mali: Land Grab or Business Opportunity?
shown on TV by:An estimated 800,000 square kilometres of farmland in the developing world have been sold to foreign entities. This short film shows business Mali-style. Watch the film now or download it from our Vimeo channel.