WorldView-funded film Powerless had its first ever screening at the 63rd Berlin International Film Festival on Feb 13-16 at various locations at the festival. More information.
The feature documentary, directed by Fahad Mustafa and Deepti Kakkar, is set in Kanpur, India’s former leather capital, where blackouts frequently take up more of the time in some districts than hours of normal electrical service.
That is why Loha Singh – a latter-day Robin Hood – has made it his life’s task to supply the poorer families and ruffled small-time entrepreneurs with power in such a bizarre manner. His direct adversary is the woman at the top of the state energy supplier Kesco, but Mrs Ritu Maheshwari is by no means the villain in this film. In fact the two protagonists are merely the lead dancers in an absurd operetta.
Powerless is a documentary film about the electrical supply in an Indian city, the story unfurling along the tangled wires and tracing out lines of conflict of a diabolical complexity, that unfolds in several towns and cities across the country.
Berlinale Film Festival
Berlin – an exciting, cosmopolitan cultural hub that never ceases to attract artists from around the world. A diverse cultural scene, a critical public and an audience of film-lovers characterise the city. In the middle of it all, the Berlinale – a great cultural event and one of the most important dates for the international film industry. Around 300,000 sold tickets, almost 20,000 professional visitors from 130 countries, including about 4,000 journalists: art, glamour, parties and business are all inseparably linked at the Berlinale.