What if you could harness the power of the free market
to solve the problems of poverty, hunger, and inequality?

To some, it sounds impossible.

But Nobel Peace Prize winner Muhammad Yunus is doing exactly that.  Bonsai celebrates Yunus’ extraordinary humanitarian work, which started when he simply lent $27 to 42 people out of his own pocket.  As the founder of Grameen Bank, Yunus pioneered microcredit, the innovative banking program that provides poor people – mainly women – with small loans they use to launch businesses and lift their families out of poverty.  In the past thirty years, microcredit has spread to every continent and benefited over 100 million families.  His Grameen Bank currently lends to one out of every 1,000 people on earth and with a 98% rate of return – unheard of in the financial world.

But Muhammad Yunus didn’t stop there.  Now, Yunus goes beyond microcredit to pioneer the idea of social business – a completely new way to use the creative vibrancy of business to tackle social problems from poverty and pollution to inadequate health care and lack of education. Bonsai shows how Yunus – in partnership with some of the world’s most visionary businesses – is launching purposely designed social ventures. From collaborating with Danone to produce affordable, nutritious yogurt for malnourished children in Bangladesh to building eyecare hospitals that will save hundreds of thousands of poor people from blindness. Bonsai offers a glimpse into his visionary work.

While Muhammad Yunus didn’t invent the notion of doing business for social good – it is a concept that needed a leader, Yunus has become that person. The Millennium Development Goal to cut poverty in half by 2015 is one of the most courageous goals mankind has ever set for itself.

The question is how?

Bonsai is a feature length documentary film that explores the work of Nobel Peace Prize winner  Muhammad Yunus and his vision from microcredit to social business.  Coming early 2010.

Why Bonsai?

“Sometimes I describe poor people as the bonsai tree.  If you take the seed of the tallest tree in the forest and put it in a flower pot, it grows only as big as the pot will let it. There’s nothing wrong with the seed; simply we did not give it enough space to grow.

Poor people are bonsai people. There’s nothing wrong with their seed, society never allowed them the space to grow as tall as everybody else.”
– Dr. Muhammad Yunus, Grameen Bank

Goals:

To engage people in Muhammad Yunus’ ground breaking work in poverty reduction and social enterprise. His example will inspire others to seize broader opportunities and shed new light on ways to work while remaining true to ones’ values and creating a positive impact. As his humanitarian vision of a world without poverty is being carried out, Bonsai will boost awareness and further his reach.

Target Audience:

Bonsai will extend the reach of Yunus’ work to the general public and international audiences. We will involve networks, educators, non-profits, and entrepreurs. The evidence and statistics support that as the world’s economy deepens its darker side, more people are seeking alternate solutions. Bonsai honors his revolutionary work and inspires action. This powerful film connects everyone with their inner entrepreneur.

Partners:

We will create partnerships with non-profit organizations, grassroots groups, corporations and public institutions in order to expand the reach of Yunus’ work and foster civic dialogue and social action. We will partner with companies such as Danone, who already works with Grameen providing affordable, nutritious yogurt to the malnourished children of Bangladesh. And we will join forces with anyone who is interested in this pioneering concept.  Join us today!

Distribution Strategy:

We will seek traditional broadcast and screening opportunities starting with film festivals, theatrical, television, on through to DVD and online release. We will create a synergy of ideas actively engaging the public by hosting special screenings with our partners. We will create a new community by joining the often separate business world with the non-profit sector. Collaborating with our partners we will create a Social Business Alliance.

Impact:

We hope to inspire the young generation of entrepreneurs to see social business as the cure to the world’s problems with everything from poverty, malnourishment, energy requirements, and cleaning up our environment.

Director’s Statement:

When I read that Muhammad Yunus won the Nobel Peace Prize, I knew I had another film to make because I have always been committed to telling stories about people who are making a difference. And here was one man who has gone from helping 42 women with $27 dollars to currently helping 8 million.

When I first arrived at the Grameen Bank I happened to get off on Muhammad Yunus’ floor. I was shocked when as I stepped off the elevator, he actually approached me and said, “Hi, what’s your name and where are you from?” To be clear, I did not have a meeting set up with him, he is just genuinely that friendly and available, unheard of for a man who is the CEO of over 20 companies.

Like most, when I arrived, I had only heard news of the Grameen Bank, but as I researched and looked into all they were doing, I was blown away. Here is a man who has taken the simplest of ideas and turned them into solving the world’s biggest problems that most people find insurmountable. After having made two films on the drug companies, I was especially interested to hear how he was tackling the problem of getting healthcare into the hands of the poor. He has opened over 40 clinics many with onsite labs and pharmacies and even provides health insurance plans for $1 for a family of seven per month.

I saw that I had a much bigger story to tell than just spreading the word on his successful microcredit bank. I over two years gathering as much information and footage on his different programs and filmed over six months in Bangladesh. I chose the companies that I thought had the most to teach the world.

Bonsai will be an expansive story of truly celebrating the simple solutions that Muhammad Yunus has created and found so effective.

Join me in bringing his work to the big screen and join us in creating the social business movement. After seeing his work first hand, I know this new version of of capitalism can create a truly sustainable future.

Director’s Bio:

Holly Mosher is an award winning filmmaker. After graduating with honors from NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts, she produced several commercials and feature films, including Lady in the Box and Reeseville.

Following her calling to work on projects which help bring about positive change, she set out making, Hummingbird. Holly’s documentary explores two non-profits in Brazil who work with street children and women suffering domestic violence. We see their lives beautifully transform and break the cycle of violence.

As producer of the critically acclaimed Side Effects, starring Katherine Heigl, and Money Talks, Holly helped expose the corruption of drug companes. Additionally, she co-produced Maybe Baby, about single women trying to have children. She also executive produced the political film Free For All! and the environmental documentary Vanishing of the Bees.

The Hollywood Reporter named her one of the top up-and-coming independent film producers.

Bonsai is her current passion project.

For info on the filmmaker go to filmmakerforchange.com