For Immediate Release:

 

"Gripping!  A Real-Life Thriller!"  --  LA Weekly

                                

POWER TRIP, The Remarkable True Story of an Entire Nation that Won't Pay Its Electric Bills, Premieres in <CITY>, <DATE> at <VENUE>.


<VENUE> is pleased to present the <CITY> premiere of Paul Devlin's award-winning POWER TRIP, beginning <DATE>, a movie that gives new meaning to the phrase dark comedy.

 

A comical clash of culture combusts, when an American energy company buys the formerly state-run electricity company in Tbilisi, capital of the former Soviet Republic of Georgia.

With its rampant corruption, political assassinations and street riots, Georgia ­ a former republic of the Soviet Union and now an independent nation, ­ is in the words of one journalist, "a basket case." In the old Soviet days electric power was cheap or free. But not anymore -- AES Corp., the massive American "global power company," has purchased the privatized electricity distribution company in Tbilisi. 

 

AES manager Piers Lewis must now train the formerly communist populace that, in this new world, customers pay market rates for their electricity. The Georgians meanwhile, from pensioners to the Energy Minister, devise ever more clever ways to get it free.

Flimsy, self-installed wires crisscross every building in Dr. Seussian fashion, as residents steal electricity because they can't afford a $24/month utility bill (about half the average Georgian’s monthly income). At the start of this chronicle, up to 90% of AES's customers refuse to pay their bills and entire neighborhoods have been disconnected as a result. Then the army and airport get behind on their bills and AES turns the juice off on them!

 

As it explores the implications of a Western-fueled pursuit of globalization and privatization, this top-notch, surprisingly humorous non-fiction narrative provides insight into today's headlines, while also offering an affectionate and entertaining glimpse into a country as it struggles to rebuild from the rubble of Soviet collapse.

 

(More info at www.powertripthemovie.com)

 

"A harrowing, hilarious look at technological and societal collapse...

offering that rare combination of drama, compassion and social insight."

                                                                          --  New York Magazine

POWER TRIP will have a one-week engagement, <DATES>, at <VENUE>, <ADDRESS>, with screenings daily at <TIMES>.

 
Filmmaker Paul Devlin is available for interviews in New York: 212-677-8581, pdevlin@nyc.rr.com.

 

 

 

 

"A first-rate documentary which impresses on a number of levels...

Made with deft even-handedness, Paul Devlin’s accomplished film plays almost like a fictional drama, combining suspense, comedy and some colorful characters."

                                                                          --  David Stratton, Variety

POWER TRIP (2003, 86 mins.) Directed, produced and edited by Paul Devlin. Co-Producers: Valery Odikadze and Claire Missanelli. Cinematography: Paul Devlin and Valery Odikadze. USA. In English and Georgian with English subtitles.

 
Press screenings:    
<DATES AND TIMES>

 

RSVP: <VENUE CONTACT>

 

 

***2004 Independent Spirit Award Nominee***

Best Documentary

 

*** 2003 Award Winner ****

Berlin Film Festival

Florida Film Festival

Hot Docs, Canadian Int'l Documentary Film Festival

Transparency International Film Festival

Port Townsend, WA Film Festival

Red Bank, NJ Film Festival

Freiburg Okomedia Environmental Film Festival, Germany

Ecomove Film Festival, Berlin, Germany