Powerless

World Documentary Competition

North American Premiere

India | 80 MINUTES | English, Hindi | English subtitles

POWERLESS

Female Director(s), Crime, Documentary
Would you risk your life to flip a switch? In Kanpur, India, putting oneself in harm’s way to deliver electrical power is all too common, especially for Loha Singh. He earns his living by giving electricity to those who can’t afford it, splicing lines from paying utility customers. While an admirable feat against the Goliath power company that charges well beyond reasonable fees to the people of Kanpur, Loha’s actions perpetuate the problems of the city by lessening the power supply—an amount that is distributed based on the number of paying customers. The situation intensifies for both parties and feeds into a vicious cycle of supply and demand. Somewhere in the middle of this battle is Ritu Maheshwari, the power company’s woman-in-charge, caught between two sides that do not share her understanding that change comes slowly and in increments.

Powerless sheds light on the opposing corners of this political ring, from Singh’s electrical Robin Hood tapping wires for neighbors to the myopic utility company whose failure to understand economics forces it deeper into financial disarray. This vibrant exposé gives a whole new meaning to the words “power struggle.”

—Ashley Havey

CAST & CREDITS

Directed by Fahad Mustafa and Deepti Kakkar

FAHAD MUSTAFA was educated in Saudi Arabia and attended universities in Delhi and Vienna. He previously worked with the office of the UN Special Rapporteur on Torture. DEEPTI KAKKAR directed a film on microfinance in India and worked on story development and as production manager for Mustafa’s 2010 feature debut, FC Chechnya.
Director
Fahad Mustafa , Deepti Kakkar
Screenwriter
Fahad Mustafa
Producer
Fahad Mustafa, Deepti Kakkar, Judy Tam
Editor
Maria Trieb-Eliaz, Namrata Rao
Associate Producer
Leopold Koegler
Cinematographer
Maria Trieb-Eliaz, Amith Surendran, Fahad Mustafa
Executive Producer
Fahad Mustafa, Deepti Kakkar, Judy Tam
Composer
Amit Kilam and Rahul Ram (Indian Ocean), Nora Kroll-Rosenbaum, Gingger Shankar
Co-Producer
ITVS
Production Manager (Kanpur)
Ahsan Iqbal
Assistant Drector
Jamal 'Faizy' Mustafa

CONTACTS

Print Source
Fahad Mustafa
Globalistan Films
New Delhi, 110026
Phone: +91 852 730 2849
fahad@globalistan.org
International Sales Contact
Deepti Kakkar
Globalistan Films
Ghaziabad, 201001
Phone: +91 981 858 2262
erbartolomeo@gmail.com
US Sales Contact
Deepti Kakkar
Globalistan Films
Ghaziabad, 201001
Phone: +91 981 858 2262
erbartolomeo@gmail.com
International Sales Contact
Catherine LeClef
CAT&Docs
Paris, 75004
Phone: +33 1 44 61 77 48
cat@catndocs.com
Press Contact
John Murphy
Murphy PR
New York, NY 10011
Phone: 212 414 0408
jmurphy@murphypr.com