{{other uses|Poverty Inc (disambiguation)}} {{Infobox film | name = Poverty, Inc. | image = Poverty, Inc. poster.jpg | alt = | caption = Film poster | director = Michael Matheson Miller | producer = Michael Matheson Miller | writer = Michael Matheson Miller<br>Jonathan Witt | narrator = | music = | cinematography = | editing = | studio = | distributor = | released = {{Film date|2014|12|05}} | runtime = 94 minutes | country = United States | language = English | budget = | gross = }}
'''''Poverty, Inc.''''' is a 91-minute documentary inquiry into the nature of human flourishing and the effects of the multibillion dollar poverty industrial complex erected to promote it. The film challenges current perceptions of global charity and promotes entrepreneurship as an effective alternative to alleviating world poverty.<ref name=rapids>{{cite news|last1=Harger|first1=Jim|title=Acton Institute film about poverty wins $100,000 Templeton Freedom Award|url=https://www.mlive.com/business/west-michigan/index.ssf/2015/11/acton_institute_film_about_pov.html|accessdate=23 December 2015|agency=MLive|publisher=Grand Rapids Press|date=November 13, 2015}}</ref> The film was made by the Acton Institute, a free market think tank.
==Production and synopsis==
The filming started in 2010. Directed by Michael Matheson Miller and drawing from over 200 interviews filmed in 20 countries,<ref>The DePaulia [https://depauliaonline.com/artslife/2014/09/26/provocative-documentary-poverty-inc-premieres-at-chicago-international-social-change-film-festival/ Provocative documentary ‘Poverty, Inc.’ premieres at Chicago International Social Change Film Festival]</ref> ''Poverty, Inc.'' explores the neocolonial power dynamics embedded paternalism underpinning the predominant modes of assistance, which often situate “the poor” (i.e. “the other”) as the objects of charity rather than as the active protagonists in their own stories.
The film has the tag-line, “Fighting poverty is big business, but who profits the most?” One of the things the film looks at is charitable institutions and their role in fighting poverty. It questions whether aid institutions themselves are sometimes a hindrance to fighting poverty.<ref name="austinchronicle1">The Austin Chronicle [https://www.austinchronicle.com/daily/screens/2014-10-29/austin-film-festival-poverty-inc/ Austin Film Festival: ''Poverty, Inc.'' Doc uncovers ugly truths in the booming global-poverty aid industry By Jessi Cape, 8:00 am, Wed. Oct. 29, 2014]</ref><ref>''Milwaukee Journal Sentinel'' [https://www.jsonline.com/blogs/purple-wisconsin/301378291.html On Self-Governance, Why Free Food and Used Clothing Won't End Poverty ''By Peter A. Giersch'' April 26, 2015]</ref> The film features Herman Chinery-Hesse, Hernando de Soto and Nobel Peace Prize winner Mohammad Yunus.<ref name="austinchronicle1"/> Also mentioned in the film are Bill Clinton and Bono.<ref name="denverfilm1">Denver Film Society [http://www.denverfilm.org/filmcenter/detail.aspx?id=26928&FID=80 Poverty, Inc.]</ref> A significant proportion of the film focuses on the unintended consequences of a policy to subsidize rice exports from the US to Haiti under the Clinton Administration in the 1990s, which he later admitted was a failure<ref>{{Cite web|last=O’Connor|first=Maura R.|title=Subsidizing Starvation|url=https://foreignpolicy.com/2013/01/11/subsidizing-starvation/|access-date=2022-01-30|website=Foreign Policy|language=en-US}}</ref> with additional coverage in the film of the reality of Haiti orphanages and the work of the Apparent Project to help bring parents out of poverty.
==Critical reception==
Peter Debruge of ''Variety'' wrote, "As if poverty weren't a challenging enough phenomenon unto itself, time has revealed that good intentions by outsiders can in many cases make the problem worse – a cruel irony that serves as the basis of Michael Matheson Miller’s ''Poverty Inc.'', an easy-to-understand docu-essay with a tough-to-accept message, especially as it implies that some aid organizations may actually be cashing in on their concern."<ref name="AutoGP-8">{{cite news|last1=Debruge|first1=Peter|title=Film Review: 'Poverty Inc.'|url=https://variety.com/2015/film/reviews/poverty-inc-film-review-1201649597/|accessdate=23 December 2015|publisher=Variety|date=November 18, 2015}}</ref> And about the director: "Miller avoids the manipulative tricks of lesser filmmakers, presenting his argument with lucidity and reason. Whereas others give without thinking, ''Poverty Inc.'' provides genuine food for thought."<ref name="AutoGP-8"/>
Jessi Cape of the ''Austin Chronicle'' wrote, "This is a not a sappy documentary – it is all about data: tax loopholes, jobs, geopolitics, property rights, gender issues, rule of law, and much else."<ref>{{cite web|last=Cape |first=Jessi |url=https://www.austinchronicle.com/daily/screens/2014-10-29/austin-film-festival-poverty-inc/ |title=Austin Film Festival: Poverty, Inc. : Doc uncovers ugly truths in the booming global-poverty aid industry – Screens |publisher=The Austin Chronicle |date=2014-10-29 |accessdate=2019-02-25}}</ref>
Justice Network, an anti-human trafficking NGO, commented, "It's a raw look at what we're doing wrong and what could be done right."<ref>{{cite web|author=Justice Network |url=https://justice-network.org/2017/10/23/what-if-our-approach-to-poverty-is-broken/ |title=What if our approach to poverty is broken? |publisher=Justice-network.org |date=2017-10-23 |accessdate=2019-02-25}}</ref>
Economist Jose Caraballo-Cueto wrote in the ''Huffington Post'' that the film relies heavily on anecdotes, committing "what economists call the fallacy of composition."<ref>{{cite news|last1=Caraballo-Cueto|first1=Jose|title='What's Wrong With 'Poverty, Inc.'? A Critical Review'|url=https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/whats-wrong-with-poverty-inc-a-critical-review_us_59c1b313e4b0c3e70e7428cc|accessdate=22 November 2017|publisher=Huffington Post|date=September 19, 2017}}</ref> The film was also critiqued for conflating foreign aid, NGO work, and the work of international development organizations, blurring the distinction between charity and support for development.<ref>{{Cite web|last=caraballocueto|date=2017-10-23|title=A Critical Review on the documentary "Poverty, Inc."|url=https://developingeconomics.org/2017/10/23/a-critical-review-on-the-documentary-poverty-inc/|access-date=2022-01-29|website=Developing Economics|language=en}}</ref>
In reviewing the film, Jeff Bloem of the Center for Public Justice argues: "It is exceedingly dangerous to only consider aid spending that has not lead{{sic}} to the reduction of poverty while disregarding the aid spending that actually does produce worthwhile results" and cites the eradication of smallpox as an example of successful aid efforts.<ref>{{Cite web|title=To End Global Poverty We Need More Evidence, Not Less Aid: A Review of "Poverty, Inc."|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190315234238/https://www.sharedjustice.org/international-justice/2016/4/5/to-end-global-poverty-we-need-more-evidence-not-less-aid-a-review-of-poverty-inc|access-date=2022-01-29|website=Shared Justice|language=en-US}}</ref>
== Awards == ;Anthem Film Festival * FreedomFest Grand Prize * Documentary Feature, Excellence in Filmmaking * Audience Choice Award, Feature length<ref>Miss Liberty's Film & Documentary World [https://www.missliberty.com/anthem-film-festival-list-of-nominees-award-winners/ Anthem Film Festival: List of Nominees & Award Winners July 18, 2015]</ref> ;Bahamas International Film Festival * Best Documentary<ref name="simacollection1">The SIMA Collection [http://simacollection.com/portfolio/poverty-inc/ Poverty, Inc. Festivals & Awards]</ref><ref>WorldEventz [http://www.worldeventz.com/events/bahamas-international-film-festival-encore/428578143959452 Bahamas International Film Encore]</ref> ;Chagrin Documentary Film Fest * Emerging Filmmaker Award<ref>Chagrin Documentary Film Fest [http://chagrinfilmfest.org/?p=2133 2014 Award Winners]</ref> ;Docutah Film Festival * Best Picture<ref>The Spectrum [https://www.thespectrum.com/story/news/local/mesquite/2014/09/09/film-festival/15328999/ Film festival Desert Valley Times ''8:49 a.m. MDT September 9, 2014'']</ref> ;FirstGlance Film Festival Philadelphia * Emerging Filmmaker Award<ref name="simacollection1"/>
== Official selection == * Austin Film Festival 2014<ref>Austin Film Festival [http://www.austinfilmfestival.com/festivalandconference/2014-film-schedule/ 2014 Film Schedule] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141002103314/http://www.austinfilmfestival.com/festivalandconference/2014-film-schedule/ |date=2014-10-02 }}</ref> * Chicago International Social Change Film Festival 2014<ref>Chicago International Social Change Film Festival [https://www.chicagosocialchange.org/ 2014 schedule]</ref><ref>The SIMA Collection [http://simacollection.com/portfolio/poverty-inc/ Festivals & Awards]</ref> * Leeds Film Festival<ref>cafe.allhallowsleeds.org.uk [http://cafe.allhallowsleeds.org.uk/2014/11/15/poverty-inc/ Poverty, Inc.]</ref><ref>Leeds International Film Festival [http://www.leedsfilm.com/films/poverty/ POverty, Inc.] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150119101835/http://www.leedsfilm.com/films/poverty/ |date=2015-01-19 }}</ref><ref name="simacollection2">The SIMA Collection [http://simacollection.com/portfolio/poverty-inc/ ''Poverty, Inc.'' Festivals & Awards]</ref> * San Luis Obispo International Film Festival<ref>San Luis Obispo International Film Festival [http://slofilmfest.org/documentary-feature-films-i-p/ San Luis Obispo International Film Festival] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150630015919/http://slofilmfest.org/documentary-feature-films-i-p/ |date=2015-06-30 }}</ref> * Thessaloniki Documentary Film Festival<ref>Thessaloniki Documentary Festival [http://www.filmfestival.gr/default.aspx?lang=en-US&page=606&newsletterid=496 17th Thessaloniki Documentary Festival – Newsletter #498 (3/14/2015]</ref><ref name="simacollection1"/> * World Unite Film Festival<ref name="simacollection2"/> * Afrika Film Festival – Leuven 2016<ref>{{cite web |title=Filmavond – Afrika Film Festival – Poverty Inc |url=https://www.leuven.be/agenda/e/filmavond-afrika-film-festival-poverty-inc/8fb85ec3-fbfe-46f1-a5c3-7b371279b09b |publisher=Stad Leuven |accessdate=25 February 2019}}</ref>
==See also== * ''The Call of the Entrepreneur''
== References == {{reflist|30em}}
== External links == * {{Official website|http://www.povertyinc.org/}} * [https://www.imdb.com/title/tt3581436/ ''Poverty, Inc.'' at IMDb]
Category:2014 documentary films Category:Documentary films about poverty Category:Libertarian publications Category:2014 films Category:2014 English-language films Category:English-language documentary films