The Project

A documentary capturing women rising from ultra poverty in remote regions all over the world. The partnerships necessary to combat significant issues like gender inequality, climate change, and poverty are highlighted.

The Inspiration

We were honored to be asked to work with Barefoot College and Hogan Lovells on a three-year partnership to empower women and girls. With such an ambitious, global project, we felt the power of storytelling was a crucial aspect of elevating the program. We received tremendous support from Hogan Lovells as the producer of the film, who agreed with us that this film could inspire networking and vision for similar efforts on other projects and global challenges in the world to come. As a signer on the UN Sustainable Development Goals, Hogan Lovells wanted to put its commitment to partnership and leadership in action. Flip the Switch has become just that.

The film, Flip The Switch, is designed to facilitate engagement that brings together leaders from organizations interested in empowering women and girls. The film is intended to be part of an engaging event that will foster connections and fuel ongoing interest around shared goals and objectives.

The Making

Flip the Switch was ambitious. We knew to capture the story we had to get out into the places where Barefoot College’s amazing work was being done. With a limited budget for a film with this grand of a scope, we had to be creative, not to mention we needed a ton of help. We got it from Barefoot’s staff putting in tons of hours to help us with travel to Hogan Lovells’ executives taking time for interviews and even coming to remote places like Africa and Mexico to participate in the work of Barefoot College.

During six months of filming, we had been to places as diverse as the Arctic region of Yakutsk to the tropical island of Zanzibar. We traveled treacherous roads, crossed through borders, wandered into places where people have carved out homes far removed from normal conventions of utilities and occupations. We captured the role of women-led leadership and innovation in ways that were simply impossible to imagine without having been there.

This is what makes Flip the Switch so special for us.

The Result

Hogan Lovells has raised more than $400,000 from its own staff in support of the work of Barefoot College. The film has been invited to a dozen film festivals. Private events in London, Washington, D.C., New York, Mexico City, and San Francisco are bringing together leaders in business, philanthropy, and non-profits to consider large-scale impact in new and creative ways. To stay up to date on events where you can see the film, visit the Flip The Switch website, and follow us on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter.

Our effort has been joined in support and partnership by Impact NY who is showing the film as part of its 2019 season of collaborative meetings and the San Francisco International Film Festival, who is hosting the film and a panel as part of its 2019 lineup.

With every click, share or purchased ticket you lend your support to this global effort to empower women in every corner of the world.