The Current War

The Current War (2017 – 2019)

The Current War is a biographical historical film about the ‘war of currents’ between electrical pioneers Thomas Edison (Benedict Cumberbatch) and George Westinghouse (Michael Shannon), and their battle for control of the electricity supply in America in the late 1880s. Both prolific inventors and businessmen, Edison championed direct current (DC) while Westinghouse fought for alternating current (AC). Their campaigns, amidst safety and commercial concerns, became the subject of mass public and media debate, drawing supporters and objectors on both sides.

Damien plays Bourke Cockran, a lawyer and politician who became involved in the war of currents via a case relating to the electric chair.

Film Festivals

Toronto International Film Festival 9 September 2017 (world premiere)

Mill Valley Film Festival 15 October 2017 (USA)

FilmColumbia Festival 23 October 2017 (USA)

Austin Film Festival 29 October 2017 (USA)

Napa Valley Film Festival 9 November 2017 (USA)

Zurich Film Festival 28, 29 September, 6 October 2019 (Switzerland)

Peonia Film Festival 10 October 2019 (Arizona USA)

Release Dates

ITALY 18 July 2019
TAIWAN 19 July 2019
GREECE 25 July 2019
UK 26 July 2019
PHILIPPINES 7 August 2019
HONG KONG 15 August 2019
PORTUGAL 5 September 2019
TURKEY 20 September 2019
MEXICO 4 October 2019
POLAND 11 October 2019
INDONESIA 16 October 2019
PHILIPPINES 16 October 2019
SINGAPORE 17 October 2019
USA 25 October 2019
SWITZERLAND 21 November 2019 (German speaking region)
SWITZERLAND 4 December 2019 (French speaking region)
SWITZERLAND 5 December 2019 (Italian speaking region)
RUSSIA 5 December 2019

Official Synopsis

Three brilliant visionaries set off in a charged battle for the future in The Current War, the epic story of the cutthroat competition that literally lit up the modern world. Benedict Cumberbatch is Thomas Edison, the celebrity inventor on the verge of bringing electricity to Manhattan with his radical new DC technology. On the eve of triumph, his plans are upended by charismatic businessman George Westinghouse (Michael Shannon), who believes he and his partner, the upstart genius Nikolai Tesla (Nicholas Hoult), have a superior idea for how to rapidly electrify America: with AC current. As Edison and Westinghouse grapple for who will power the nation, they spark one of the first and greatest corporate feuds in American history, establishing for future Titans of Industry the need to break all the rules. Directed by Alfonso Gomez-Rejon (Me and Earl and the Dying Girl) with Producer Timur Bekmambetov, Basil Iwanyk and Executive Producer Martin Scorsese, The Current War also stars Katherine Waterston, Tom Holland, Matthew Macfadyen and Tuppence Middleton.