Founded in 2008 by a quartet of Harvard and MIT economics graduates, the charitable startup GiveDirectly has become one of the world’s fastest-growing nonprofits by virtue of its simple but innovative approach to raising funds for underprivileged communities. Allowing predominantly Western donors to make direct, unconditional cash transfers to poverty-stricken East African individuals via their phones, the concept cuts out the intermediary factors of larger charities — where televisually induced donations of a few dollars a month might have little direct effect on those in need. On the face of it, it seems a sound idea, and at the outset of Sam Soko and Lauren DeFilippo’s smart, calmly probing documentary “Free Money,” you might be forgiven for expecting a thinly disguised, feature-length infomercial for GiveDirectly itself.
Neither the charity nor the documentary, however, work exactly as they initially appear to. What begins as a generous, receptive platform for Michael Faye,...
Neither the charity nor the documentary, however, work exactly as they initially appear to. What begins as a generous, receptive platform for Michael Faye,...
- 11/18/2022
- by Guy Lodge
- Variety Film + TV
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In one of her first meetings with the villagers of Kogutu, Caroline Teti, an employee of the fast-growing nonprofit GiveDirectly, tells them, “I know you’ve had a lot of visitors.” She’s referring to the various NGOs that have swooped into Kogutu and other corners of the African continent with big promises that often turn up empty. In her stylish dress and heels, Teti presents a new idea to these Kenyans, a program that that would give every eligible adult villager 22 a month for 12 years. “White people,” she tells the villagers, “call it redistribution of wealth.”
Free Money is an illuminating documentary from helmers Lauren DeFilippo (Red Heaven) and Sam Soko (Softie), who weigh the virtuous goal of lifting people out of poverty against the potential adverse effects of white-savior syndrome. Focusing on a few Kogutu residents over the GiveDirectly program’s...
In one of her first meetings with the villagers of Kogutu, Caroline Teti, an employee of the fast-growing nonprofit GiveDirectly, tells them, “I know you’ve had a lot of visitors.” She’s referring to the various NGOs that have swooped into Kogutu and other corners of the African continent with big promises that often turn up empty. In her stylish dress and heels, Teti presents a new idea to these Kenyans, a program that that would give every eligible adult villager 22 a month for 12 years. “White people,” she tells the villagers, “call it redistribution of wealth.”
Free Money is an illuminating documentary from helmers Lauren DeFilippo (Red Heaven) and Sam Soko (Softie), who weigh the virtuous goal of lifting people out of poverty against the potential adverse effects of white-savior syndrome. Focusing on a few Kogutu residents over the GiveDirectly program’s...
- 9/20/2022
- by Sheri Linden
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Everyone over the age of eighteen (those fifteen and older become eligible on their eighteenth birthday) will receive twenty-two dollars a month for twelve years. That’s the promise GiveDirectly (represented by co-founder Michael Faye) made to the poor rural Kenyan village of Kogutu and, to their credit, has met in full. The idea is that too many NGOs (non-governmental organizations) have ravaged third world countries by making assurances they never follow through on. People would give them money, they would disburse it as they saw fit devoid of oversight, and too much would get wasted with little change. So Faye’s company seeks to give it directly to the people in need via a universal basic income while studying the results and extrapolating the impact onto a larger scale.
Free Money directors Lauren DeFilippo and Sam Soko heard about this plan and, unsurprisingly, didn’t believe it possible. Few would.
Free Money directors Lauren DeFilippo and Sam Soko heard about this plan and, unsurprisingly, didn’t believe it possible. Few would.
- 9/16/2022
- by Jared Mobarak
- The Film Stage
What if a company promised to give you money, every month for twelve years, free of charge and without working? The humble people in the modest Kenyan village of Kogutu, are initially (and understandably) worried about what strings are attached when Ngo workers for the charity GiveDirectly arrive offering 22 a month for the next twelve years to any resident over the age of 18. The money, a universal basic income, promises to change their lives. It’s part of a test program, happening in several other countries, to see if direct infusions of cash works better in altering income inequality than standard charitable practices.
“Free Money,” by Sam Soko and Lauren DeFilippo, chronicles the implementation of GiveDirectly’s controversial program by its founder Michael Faye. It begins in 2017 and winds its way through the first four years of the plan, steadily checking in with the recipients to see how they’ve...
“Free Money,” by Sam Soko and Lauren DeFilippo, chronicles the implementation of GiveDirectly’s controversial program by its founder Michael Faye. It begins in 2017 and winds its way through the first four years of the plan, steadily checking in with the recipients to see how they’ve...
- 9/12/2022
- by Robert Daniels
- Indiewire
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