New Slate Ventures has come on board as a production partner for Insignia Films’ “Free Money.” The announcement was made just ahead of the documentary feature’s world premiere at the 2022 Toronto International Film Festival.

Jordan Fudge, Jeremy Allen and Tess Cohen will join producer Amanda Pollak, and executive producers Stephen Ives, Bradwel Iro (LBX Africa), Chris Buck (Retro Report) to back the film. 

The film explores what happens when universal basic income (UBI) comes to the Kenyan village of Kogutu. GiveDirectly, a non-profit organization, is sending free money for 12 years as part of an experiment. Filmmakers Lauren DeFilippo and Sam Soko juxtapose the story of these young economists, bankrolled by Silicon Valley and convinced that they have found an infallible algorithm to improve lives, with those of the villagers.

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“’Free Money’ has been a labor of love five years in the making,” said Amanda Pollak, senior partner at Insignia Films. “It’s been a truly global collaboration and offers a unique, intimate perspective on universal basic income as it is playing out right now in Kenya. We were thrilled to partner with New Slate Ventures to bring this captivating and timely story to the widest possible audience.”

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The documentary is part of an effort to spark debate around an idea that could alleviate global poverty.  

“Universal basic income is one of the most important issues of our time, especially in reaction to increasing amounts of automation and wealth inequality throughout the global economy,” Jordan Fudge, co-founder of New Slate Ventures. “We were delighted to partner with Insignia Films in this unprecedented social and cinematic experiment, and hope it conveys the urgency needed in seriously contemplating the possible solutions to extreme poverty throughout the developing world.”

New Slate Ventures was founded by Fudge, the head of L.A.-based hedge fund Sinai Capital Partners, along with Allen and Zach White. The company has backed “The Forty-Year-Old Version” and “The United States vs. Billie Holiday.”

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