Project Detail

Bank Job

Synopsis

Artist/filmmaker team of Dan Edelstyn and Hilary Powell set off to understand the world of debt. It turns into a community movement which opens it own bank, produces its own currency and then buys £1 million worth of predatory debts, which are blown up in the shadow of London’s financial district. Filmed over five years, it is a story which takes in debt resisters in the US, leading international economists and a rich cast of people from the filmmakers’ diverse local community. At a time when most people – including politicians – do not understand how money comes into existence this film pulls back the veil on the dark world of debt with wit and insight. As one would expect from the makers of HOW TO RE-ESTABLISH A VODKA EMPIRE (BFI London Film Festival 2011) the film mischievously plays with the documentary form as the filmmakers move from behind to front of camera, in an entertaining range of character. A film to inform, enrage and inspire.
Official Selection Hot Docs Festival 2021 - Artscapes - World Premiere

Details

Year
2020
Type of film
Features
Running time
88 min
Format
hd
Director
Hilary Powell, Daniel Edelstyn
Producer
Hilary Powell, Daniel Edelstyn. Christopher Hird
Executive Producer
Lisa-Marie Russo
Editor
Alice Powell
Sound
Rob Walker
Composer
Jess Braun, Nick Graham Smith, Daniel Edelstyn

Genre

Categories

Production Status

Production Company

Page updates

This page was last updated on 12th May 2025. Please let us know if we need to make any amendments or request edit access by clicking below.

See also

You may also be interested in other relevant projects in the database.

Spacewoman Spacewoman

Director: Hannah Berryman

Year: 2024

A landmark feature documentary about astronaut Eileen Collins, the first woman to pilot and command the Space Shuttle.<br /> Eileen’s incredible journey starts with her smalltown beginnings, sees her smash through many glass ceilings, and culminates in four dramatic space shuttle missions, the last being possibly the most dangerous and most important of them all.<br /> At its heart the film is the moving human drama of one family, where a mother’s extraordinary career takes us straight to the big philosophical question of what is the level of acceptable risk in human endeavour? <br /> This film celebrates Commander Collins’ trailblazing NASA career which opened the way for women to become spacecraft pilots and commanders, and proved a perfect riposte to a previous generation of male astronauts who thought there was no place for women to lead the way in space. <br /> Official Selection DOC NYC 2024 - World premiere<br /> Official Selection CPH:DOX 2025 - European premiere

Filmmakers Hilary Powell and Dan Edelstyn sleep out as part of the community campaing to turn every street into a power station. Power Station

Director: Dan Edelstyn, Hilary Powell

Year: 2025

Two artists in Walthamstow set out to take their street off the grid, kickstarting a solar-powered energy revolution.<br /> Inspired by lockdown mutual aid initiatives, artist-activists Hilary Powell and Dan Edelstyn decided to turn their street into an energy-generating powerhouse – a prototype for a new way of living, with the hope of galvanising a wider push towards sustainable alternatives. Directed by the duo, POWER STATION charts their turbulent journey, from pitching the idea to their neighbours and sleeping on the roof of their home to raising finance and launching a bid for a Christmas number one single. By turns funny and heartwarming, Powell and Edelstyn’s film is a vibrant portrait of their local neighbourhood, and a charming testament to the power of art in changing minds about what could be possible.<br /> Official Selection Sheffield DocFest 2025

Nova '78 Nova '78

Director: Aaron Brookner, Rodrigo Areias

Year: 2025

A time capsule from the underground. NOVA 78 resurrects the electrifying Nova Convention of 1978 featuring never-before-seen footage of William Burroughs, Frank Zappa, Patti Smith and other icons restored over a decade in the UK and reimagined as a cinematic event for today’s audiences.<br /> Official Selection Locarno Film Festival 2025 - World premiere