Bitcoin's untold stories earn top film fest prize

A township in South Africa. A defector-run school. A refugee with nothing but a phone. These are the stories Jenna Reid hopes to tell – with Bitcoin at the center.

The filmmaker is working on Network Effect, a documentary series that aims to show how people around the world are using Bitcoin not for speculation, but survival. And after winning the pitch award at the Bitcoin FilmFest in Warsaw, Poland, she’s one step closer to telling those stories on screen.

“For me, Bitcoin is freedom,” Reid told The Crypto Radio. “It’s the ownership of something that no one can take away from you, and that’s actually quite rare.”

Starting with Bitcoin Ekasi in South Africa

Reid has already begun filming the first episode in South Africa, where she’s documenting Bitcoin Ekasi – a township-based circular economy project helping people excluded from traditional finance.

“Many people don’t have ID documents,” she explained, which effectively locks them out of banking systems. “For many people, it’s the first time they've had a way to store money.”

Even those with access to banks face unaffordable fees. In areas where robbery is common and cash is unsafe, Bitcoin offers a rare solution. “Bitcoin gives you a lot of power… something that you know you own, and no one can actually take that away from you.”

Reid said the activity in places like Ekasi is often ignored in global crypto narratives. “While most of the world are sitting around complaining about inflation, complaining about broken politics, there's actually already so much action happening by these little grassroots communities.”

Uganda is next – thanks to her pitch prize

The prize money from Bitcoin FilmFest will help fund her next stop: Uganda. There, Reid plans to film a project led by human rights advocate Meron Estefanos, which equips refugees with financial tools and crypto education.

“Refugees are a hugely vulnerable group of people,” Reid said. “If you're traveling to improve your life and don't have a way to store money safely, you're at constant risk.”

She shared stories of people who had lost everything while fleeing conflict – except the Bitcoin they stored on their phones. In cases like these, digital currency isn’t about market gains. It’s about having a second chance.

Jenna Reid’s next stop is Uganda, where she will document how Bitcoin is being used by refugee communities. Photo: Unsplash / B40deep

Underground schools and stateless children

One of the most striking revelations in Reid’s early research came from the North Korean defector community. She recalled hearing an interview with a defector who had been trafficked into China and later had a child who couldn’t access education because of mixed heritage.

“There was actually whole underground schools being funded by Bitcoin in China,” she said. Reid hadn’t realised how common this problem was – children being denied state education simply because they were half Korean.

It was a turning point that sparked her deeper interest in Bitcoin’s social potential. These weren’t theoretical use cases or economic models – they were human stories of exclusion and resilience.

Challenging assumptions about Bitcoin

Reid hopes Network Effect will challenge the narrow view of Bitcoin as merely an asset class. “Most people in the West, their interest in Bitcoin is still about, ‘Oh, this could be a good investment’,” she said.

“But for many people, it's a tool to give them more freedom and make them less vulnerable in the world.”

She believes that for people in fragile systems – whether that means authoritarian regimes, broken financial infrastructure, or life as an undocumented migrant – Bitcoin can provide a level of control and access that the traditional world doesn’t offer.

“If you don't live in a stable system,” Reid explained, “you're much more open to a solution like Bitcoin.”

Jenna Reid’s project focuses on real-world Bitcoin use around the world, starting with the Bitcoin Ekasi community. Photo: Network Effect

Financial fragility isn’t just abroad

Reid also sees cracks in the systems closer to home. She pointed to events like the freezing of Canadian truckers' bank accounts during the 2022 protests and proposed UK policies involving government control over personal spending.

“You just don't know. Anything’s possible,” she said.

It’s a reminder that the line between financial inclusion and exclusion is thinner than many assume – and that Bitcoin’s relevance might not be confined to the Global South.

“It’s about showing the real value of Bitcoin and inviting us to reflect on how secure we really are in the system that we live in.”

A human story, not a tech film

Although the documentary focuses on a digital currency, Reid is clear that the technology isn’t the point – the people are.

“Before I started learning about Bitcoin, it was an opportunity for me to learn a bit more about the wider economic monetary system that we live in,” she said.

Her approach is grounded in cultural storytelling. By focusing on lived experience rather than market analysis, she hopes to make complex ideas relatable. “The crux of it is... while most of the world are sitting around complaining... there's already so much action happening by these little grassroots communities.”

The Crypto Radio's Bo Jablonski caught up with the pitch-winner Jenna Reid at Bitcoin FilmFest in Warsaw

From idea to action

Reid’s Warsaw win brought both funding and validation. She’s now seeking a producer and collaborators who share her belief in Bitcoin’s untold potential.

“I think if you have a passion for something and it's something you generally care about, then that's the best way.”

The next steps for Network Effect will take her deeper into communities using Bitcoin out of necessity – not hype. By documenting those lives, Reid hopes to help others rethink what financial freedom really means.