PRIVATE MONEY PUBLIC POWER

In Development. 3-part documentary series. 200 minutes. Produced and Directed by Matt Landfield and Cat Deakins.

THE SERIES IN BRIEF

Private Money, Public Power explores the history of U.S. philanthropy from the late 1800’s Progressive Era through today. Philanthropy in the U.S. touches almost everyone, in ways that are both obvious and hidden, yet remains largely unscrutinized by most Americans. We will tell the remarkable story of how the richest business titans, from Andrew Carnegie to Bill Gates, have used untaxed philanthropic funds to impact society through large-scale grant-making— wielding power entirely unelected, and virtually unaccountably. This is the first such cinematic examination of philanthropy, pulling back the curtain to illuminate its often difficult role in our civil society, a role which grows and is more hotly debated during periods of extreme wealth inequality and social unrest.  

Private Money, Public Power highlights the work of a new generation of scholars and critics calling into question some of philanthropy’s most basic operating principles, and its uneasy relationship to social justice, racial justice, and to democracy itself.  These scholars are interrogating how philanthropy is used, the wealth that fuels it, and the moral values that drive it, asking, “how can it be that enormous giving and enormous inequality are two sides of the same coin?”

The series concludes with a meditation on how philanthropy, which literally means “love of humankind,” can be practiced positively in an unequal society.  Illuminating the complex world of philanthropy and tracing its evolution, we discover ongoing conflicts over who should decide how our society approaches social problems and what the measure of human welfare, value & dignity should be.  The history of philanthropy reveals that the actions we take as a society to fulfill these ideals resonate far beyond our own lives and experiences.