Since founding Sky Films, we’ve focused our work on documentary films that inform, uplift and inspire the human spirit. 

In many cases, we met and worked with people and communities who were in the midst of rising out of poverty...inspiring individuals such as street vendors in India who fought for legal access to work and now are able to send their children to college, a North Korean refugee who has built a venture capital company in South Korea that invests in the companies of other North Korean refugees, a woman who started with a pan and a hotplate and now runs a successful catering business and culinary school in Zambia. We also came to know the local advocates who were fighting the legal and social battles to remove barriers that had prevented such people, often women, from full economic participation.

These women and men have touched our hearts and minds and have inspired us beyond measure.  But such stories rarely make the news, and it is our commitment to give their experiences and insights light. This path has led us to She Rises Up, with a focus on the intersection of women and poverty and the power of work.

Over a billion people coming out of extreme poverty in just 25 years is an impressive and dramatic change in our world. What has allowed so many people to drastically improve their life situations, while over 750 million people today still suffer in poverty? There remains much work to be done to create an environment that will truly bring an end to extreme poverty in our lifetime.

Our conclusions:

1. Removing the obstacles that prevent women from participating fully in the economy is not only a human rights issue, it is a powerful tool for reducing poverty. 
   
   

2. Nearly one-third of all countries have laws that stifle a woman’s access to work.  They limit access to bank accounts, property inheritance, and many types of jobs. These countries have some of the highest poverty rates in the world.
   
   

3. Creating environments that allow for economic freedom is the most effective method for fighting poverty.  Governments aren’t able to produce prosperity on their own, their role is to create the safe and conducive environment for entrepreneurial growth and job creation. Citizens with the options and freedom to work can create a healthy economy.
   
   

4. It is local entrepreneurs who create meaningful and lasting jobs. While there are certain roles foreign aid and government regulation can play in fighting poverty, these approaches are overused to the point that they often end up preventing the sustainable job creation that is vital for lasting change and growth.
   
   

5. It is critical for women to have the option to work in order to have financial protection and independence.