Higher Power
2024 · 10m · USA
Directed by Kurt Andrew Schneider
When a storm triggers a citywide blackout, a scrap collector seizes the dangerous opportunity to scale utility poles and scavenge copper power lines, hoping to turn his luck around.
Picked by Margot
The scouts
Real people climb poles and steal copper during blackouts — that's a hell of an opening pitch, no metaphor needed. Hope the film stays grimy and doesn't reach for redemption.
Schneider mines a documentary curiosity, copper theft during blackouts, into a Reichardt-adjacent socioeconomic micro-thriller. The premise is rich enough to compensate for the relatively quiet reception metrics.
9:52 with 258 likes and a serious below-the-line crew — original score by Chapdelaine, production design by Kearney, full sound team — for a real-research-driven premise about copper thieves during blackouts. Schneider editing his own film usually means the rhythm matches the danger; this one's got the bones.
Reviews
Schneider chronicles the life of his protagonist with sensitivity and incredible visual flair, immersing viewers in his main character's world with camera movements and editing that echo the chaotic aspect of his life.
Sam Davis' cinematography captures it all with so much elegance, reflecting how the protagonist sees his own world.