Why Poverty?

A series of films which ask what it means to live in poverty in the 21st Century.

America's War on Poverty

In the midst of unprecedented national prosperity in the 1960s, poverty was "rediscovered" by American policy makers, media and the public. This series examines how the poor fared during these years and the resultant evolution of foundation and public sector programs addressing the challenges of poverty.

Famous, Rich And In The Slums with Comic Relief

Lenny Henry, Samantha Womack, Reggie Yates and Angela Rippon experience unimaginable poverty as they spend a week living it for real in this ground-breaking, two-part documentary for Comic Relief.

Steenrijk Straatarm

Naufragés des villes

Commanding Heights: The Battle for the World Economy

The people, ideas, and events that created our current world economy.

Live Aid at 40: When Rock ’n’ Roll Took on the World

A look at the legacy of Band Aid, Live Aid and Live 8 in reshaping global charity and politics. Featuring interviews with Bob Geldof, Bono, Sting, and African and western leaders of the time.

Famous, Rich and Hungry

Four famous volunteers try to untangle the complicated reasons and life choices that lie behind Britain's hidden hunger crisis and are challenged to help UK households find a way out of food poverty

Famous, Rich and Jobless

Four famous volunteers agree to swap their fame and fortune for a world of joblessness, job-hunting and surviving on the poverty line and benefits

The Oblongs

The Oblongs are not so much dysfunctional as slightly nonfunctional. Living next to a polluted swamp has left them with the occasional missing limb or mysterious growth, but through it all, this close-knit family sticks together.Sometimes literally.

Tokyo Poverty Girl

After her divorce, Kariya Mako returned to work as a contract editor for an economics magazine. There, she is ordered to be in charge of a serialization based on the theme of women in poverty. She interviews people living in various difficult situations, and it gradually makes her realize that this is a widespread problem that she herself is not entirely impervious to, as she is also someone dealing with employment instability while struggling to raise her children.

Bakekang

A loving heart trapped beneath an ugly facade, ignored and unappreciated by those who fail to see beyond what is skin-deep. She is a woman whose only desire is to feel a little affection from the world that has deprived her of everything she has always longed for.

Liar

In the "Lilypad House," a small run-down house, lives Simala, a young woman who is raised to be ambitious. It is full of warmth and love despite its poor state. However, Simala still yearns to relocate to a presentable new house for her and her family and she hopes to find a man who is capable of changing her life for the better. "Warodom," a young good-looking man with an ambiguous lineage, also hopes to attract the attention of a beautiful socialite. Both Simala and Warodom share a common goal. But what are their true backgrounds, careers, and social circles? They appear with a presentable and opulent front as bait to lure each other in. Although, it would be considered a challenge to determine who the prey or the predator actually is, or perhaps it is because...they are in the same boat!

NieA_7

Mayuko Chigasaki is an ordinary girl from the countryside, who now is attending university in big city Tokyo. She struggles each day to make ends meet while studying for her exams, barely scraping up the yen to afford bus fare to and from school. And at the end of the day, she comes home to a gluttonous, freeloading alien living in her closet!

Top Boy

Two seasoned drug dealers return to the gritty street of London, but their pursuit of money and power is threatened by a young and ruthless hustler.

City of Men

The series is based on the award-winning Brazilian film City of God, which itself was nominated for Oscars in four categories, including Best Director for Fernando Meireles. Based on the story of two friends, Laranjinha and Acerola, who live adventurous and dangerous lives in a Rio de Janeiro slum, 'City of Men' brings into sharp relief the condition of children and adolescents in these areas, realistically yet with a dose of humor.

SHUT UP

A crime suspense drama that follows four female college students who live in the same dormitory. After discovering one of their friends has fallen unexpectedly pregnant, and that the man who impregnated her is treating her badly, they hatch a plan to steal 1 million yen out of revenge.

Hoje é Dia de Maria

Maria is an orphan girl who suffers from her stepmother's wickedness. She then decides to escape in search of the fringes of the sea and takes a long walk through Brazilian folk tales. On her journey, she meets several fantastic characters.

That Mountain That Sea

On the Way to Hope

When Zhang Nan was a child, his mother was imprisoned because she had fought with the villagers over irrigation water. From then on, Zhang Nan was determined to leave and take root in the big city. Just when he has graduated with a master's degree, his mother was diagnosed with cancer. Zhang Nan is forced to abandon a promising future in Shanghai and returned to his native village of Baiguo to serve as the team leader. Zhang Nan takes on three years of poverty alleviation work. Through his journey, he manages to untangle the knots from his childhood and also comes to understand the true meaning of his work. Along with his girlfriend, they invest their time and effort to focus on helping the countryside.