An activist duo start their own bank to blow up Britain’s debt culture (and a Transit van), in this heartwarming documentary filled with community spirit
Not to be confused with the Jason Statham heist caper, here’s a likable documentary with a big heart and some punch-the-air moments from husband and wife team Hilary Powell and Daniel Edelstyn. The film is the story of how they opened a “bank” on their high street in Walthamstow, north-east
London, and printed money – a kind of art-installation-meets-community-activism project. On the banknotes they replaced the Queen’s head with portraits of local heroes: a food bank founder on the fiver; a soup kitchen volunteer on the tenner; a youth leader on the 20; a primary school headteacher on the 50.
The project was inspired by the Rolling Jubilee Fund in America, which bought $3.8m worth of students’ loans in 2014 and cancelled the debt. So, with the £40,000 raised from selling their art banknotes, Powell and Edelstyn spent half buying back £1.2m of debt owed by ordinary people in Walthamstow. (It cost so little because debt is sold for significantly less on the secondary market because it’s unlikely all of it will be paid back).