A bistable liquid crystal film, comprising: a first transparent flexible film coated with conductive material; a second transparent flexible film; at least one layer of liquid crystal dispersions disposed between the transparent flexible conductive films; and an ionic dopant disposed within the layer of liquid crystal dispersions. The bistable liquid crystal film is characterized as having two modes, a transparent mode and a scattering mode, with transitions between the two modes being accomplished by voltage pulses with no need to maintain a voltage across the film in order to maintain it in a particular mode. The ionic dopant is an ionic mesogen, preferably an ionic metal-organic mesogen.