Can a $200 laptop save the world?

Despite its majestic mountains and rich history, Nepal is one of the world’s poorest countries. But local engineers from the Open Learning Exchange (OLE) are using technology to help some of Nepal’s most underprivileged kids achieve an education that few thought possible.  We recently traveled to a village in remote western Nepal to tell the story of how OLE, in conjunction with the UN’s World Food Program, is helping change lives and possibly providing a model for how the One Laptop Per Child program can work worldwide.

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Peace in the Middle East? No problem. Avaaz is one of the world’s largest digital activist organizations. As Avaaz’s lead North American production company, we are collaborating on a series of high-impact TV ads and viral web videos to help raise their profile, sway public opinion and engage their 3.5 million members worldwide. So far, our campaigns have raised more than $300,000 and have been seen by tens of thousands of people on American TV networks and online around the world (watch here and here). Our current project, combining live actors and 3D animated worlds, breaks down the entire Israel/Palestinian conflict in four and half minutes.

WAR AGAINST THE WEAK is the sinister history of how the pseudo-science of eugenics gained a powerful support base in the U.S. before becoming the basis for Hitler’s genocidal Final Solution. Borrowing the art and language of a deranged movement, WAR AGAINST THE WEAK is a haunting and unforgettable illustration of the intersection of science and extreme intolerance. The film has won numerous awards, including best film at the Beverly Hills Film Festival.

Produced by INVISIBLE HAND’S Pete Demas for Endless Films.

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Seven months after the U.S. invasion, Lappé and partner Stephen Marshall traveled to war-torn Iraq to follow the story of a former anti-Saddam rebel as he tracked down the family he left behind more than a decade earlier. The joy of his emotional reunions are set against an inside look at how the U.S. military was ill-prepared to deal with the growing insurgency. The NYT Magazine said the award-winning film was a “movingly human and many-sided portrait of the war.” Aired on Showtime, and various international networks. It was released by Home Vision Entertainment on DVD and distributed to Blockbuster, Hollywood Video and Netflix, among others.

IAVA is the nation’s largest and more active organization dedicated to helping the often ignored veterans of our current conflicts. Executive Director Paul Rieckhoff turned to Lappé to direct an emotional and inspirational short film that chronicled his group’s impact on policymakers and, more importantly, on the lives of vets in need. Rieckhoff noted the film, “directly helped raise thousands of dollars and increased our membership significantly.”

How do you tell horrific stories of torture and abuse while inspiring young people to get involved? The Milarepa Fund, organizers of the legendary Tibetan Freedom Concerts, hired Lappé to direct and produce a series of shorts about the plight of the Tibetan people to be shown on the JumboTrons at the organization’s Wembley Stadium concert. Lappé told the story of Palden Gyatso, a monk who, after spending more than 20 years in a Chinese prison, snuck back into the prison to smuggle out the torture devices used on him and others. Unfortunately, the London concert was canceled. But the film project was completed and seen around the world on the web and used at numerous fundraisers for groups such as Students for a Free Tibet.