Good Fortune (2009)

• 78%
• 2009
• Documentary
• Landon Van Soest

The West has spent $2.3 trillion in charitable aid over the last 50 years but has failed to significantly reduced poverty levels in Africa. In fact, many of our best intentions have actually undermined the communities they aimed to benefit. GOOD FORTUNE presents a unique opportunity to experience foreign aid through the lens of the people it is intended to help. Shot over three years across Kenya's diverse landscapes, the film interweaves intimate portraits of three individuals targeted by massive international development projects. Jackson, Silva, and Okech fight against the odds as they confront the development projects that are threatening to destroy their homes and livelihoods. In the rural countryside, Jackson's farm is being flooded by an American investor who hopes to alleviate poverty by creating a multi-million dollar rice farm. On neighboring Lake Victoria, Oketch battles World Bank environmental policies that are making it nearly impossible for him to survive as a fisherman. And in Nairobi, Silva's home and business in Africa's largest squatter community are being demolished as part of a United Nations slum-upgrading project. Interweaving meditative portraits of its characters, GOOD FORTUNE examines the impact of international aid on the ground, according to those it is intended to benefit. With a broad scope and intimate style, the film portrays surprising stories of human perseverance and suggests that the answers for Africa lie in the resilience of its people.