BANK JOB BURSTS @HOTDOCS 2021

Financial health is to be taken seriously during these difficult times. It has been way too long that ‘creditocracy’ has been in power. This has allowed for the polarization of wealth to subside into class division leading to economic turmoil for many countries. To be in debt and to get out of it is a struggle. The banks want to keep you in there even years after you pass. It’s profitable for them to keep you down this rabbit hole.

Filmmakers and husband/wife duo Daniel Edelstyn and Hilary Powell has had enough of this existing structure. They have spent five years bringing their documentary Bank Job to the Hot Docs Canadian International Film Festival and the rest of the film circuit. Educating themselves about the distribution of money was key to unlock the secrets of the wealthy. Their trip to New York revealed the truth when speaking with financial experts and the Rolling Jubilee. It’s a grassroots organization born out of the Occupy Movement, raising over $700,000 in debt to cancel more than $31 million of student debt and medical bills. This provided both of these mischievous filmmakers the inspiration to create a viable solution.

A movement of their own in their hometown of Walthamstow, England was next move for Dan and Hilary. They set their own bank HSCB up to print their own currency. The notes were faced with community leaders who were finding it difficult to sustain their services with no financial support. The printed money sells as works of art to the community. These proceeds help down to pay the debt of 1.3 million of household debt conjured in the system. A van full of papers that were related to this debt was blown up in the film to symbolize that this bubble will eventually burst.

Bank Job is a sign of things to come. It’s too common that people are buying essentials through debt. To provoke change within the system of money creation, these grassroots movements like HSCB are required. We need to combat financial illness.

FERNTV spoke to director Daniel Edelstyn about the process of filmmaking this movement in this one-of-a-kind documentary Bank Job.

FERNTV:  So is it safe to say that the financial crisis of 2008 was the beginning of polarization? Perhaps this was a turning point?

Dan: No I would say the beginning of ‘creditocracy’ came about with the onset of the Neo-liberal movement. Margaret Thatcher and Ronald Reagan cut the red tape that stopped retail banks from speculating on the stock exchanges. It allowed them to create as much money as they wanted – creating massive cycles of boom and bust. These are the patterns into which 2008 fits. The post-2008 QE has been a plaster for a wound that is so deep that there is no easy fix.

FERNTV: What were the sacrifices to make this all happen?

Dan: Well it was about six years of my life. Although, it was an honour to make something that is important. And not only that to be able to feel that we were making an important contribution. That being the area we live in and the national conversation about economic justice. There were some hard times: funding wasn’t easy. But it taught us how to build up an online community and get their passionate support.

FERNTV: Briefly explain some of the backlashes you get for making HSCB. How do you channel negative feedback into something positive?

Dan: Well so far it’s been positive to be honest. We expected a lot of tabloid hatred to come our way – but not much did. We had a few people ranting online – trolls maybe – but I don’t think that’s too hard to deal with. My approach is to try and not get drawn into it. I don’t want to fight with the people who don’t like it – it’s a waste of my energy. My concern is much more about the people who do like it. Getting the message out to them is important.

FERNTV: There was mention in the podcast The World Transformed that there is a stigma amongst people in debt. Do you feel stigma has to be removed through grassroots movements such as yours before major changes take place?

Dan: Yes, in the UK there’s a lot of stigma around debt. Most of the moralizing comes from Victorian attitudes. Although, really we wanted to show that much of this moralizing is pure hypocrisy. The rich can renegotiate their debts, write off their taxes and get bailed out by the poor and the taxpayers. While telling them to pull their belt in, work crap jobs and choose between eating or heating just isn’t fair.

FERNTV: We believe there is a Guy Ritchie influence to Bank Job because of its scenes, the movie poster and the promotional stills.  Can you comment on that?

Dan: Yes, it’s interesting to see what you can do with the documentary form. You can experiment and take a playful attitude. Some of that was because the subject matter could be quite dense and complex – also very emotionally draining. We discovered how banks create money as interest-bearing debt and that is a sleight of hand that ultimately enriches them. It impoverishes almost everyone else – we knew that they were really the ones who were doing a job on us… so the metaphor of a people’s heist became quite irresistible.

FERNTV: What piece of film equipment was economical and efficient that you would suggest to other filmmakers.

Dan: We mainly shot on an FS7 which isn’t terribly cheap but is a great, strong workhorse of a camera. Toward the end of the film, we needed a camera that was lighter and easier to keep with us on the move. So we invested in an

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