To Catch a Dollar.
Microcredit Film unveiled at Sundance.
By Jenelle Madrid.
Last week the Sundance Film Festival was host to the documentary To Catch a Dollar: Muhammad Yunus Banks on America, produced and directed by Gayle Ferraro.
The movie focuses on the father of microcredit, Muhammad Yunus, and his journey of introduction of microlending to the boroughs of New York City.
Entreprenuers portrayed in the movie are the same women from Queens that were featured in the Times Magazine article “Can Microfinance make it in America?”
To Catch a Dollar covers the changes undergone by these women in one year, as they have started their own businesses and have seen their own economic potential. Much like the women at Aldea in Guatemala, they are given the chance to thrive in their communities and provide for their families.
Ferraro’s commentary on what she had hoped was accomplished by the movie:
“I really hope that this film helps obliterate prejudices against poor people. So many people believe there is no excuse to not make money and it is not that simple. To think poorly of kids from families who don’t have money or opportunities is so unjust. We think this film will really showcase the power and effectiveness of investing in the poor and creating entrepreneurs.”
Yunus’s establishment of the Grameen Bank and its successes, amounting to $4.3 million in loans to 2,002 borrowers and a 99% repayment rate, has definitely made its impact on not only the poor, but the economic world as well.
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