Help is on the Way
Feature Documentary
Project Type: Feature Documentary
Runtime: 97 Minutes
Status: Completed
Licensing Rights: Worldwide Rights Available
From award-winning filmmaker Mathew Embry (Living Proof, Painkiller: Inside the Opioid Crisis), Help Is on the Way shines a light on the urgent but often overlooked crisis of energy poverty — a condition affecting over a billion people across more than 150 countries who live without reliable access to heat, power, or light.
Without abundant, reliable, and affordable energy, communities face enormous barriers: students struggle to study after dark, health care is limited, and local economies can’t grow. Yet for many in the West, energy poverty remains an unfamiliar issue rarely seen in media or political debate.
Filmed across multiple continents — from the remote highlands of Peru to Indigenous communities in the Canadian Arctic — Help Is on the Way is both an exposé and a call to action. It reveals how energy poverty intersects with education, health, sovereignty, and survival and follows individuals and organizations working to bring lasting change.
Help Is on the Way argues that solving energy poverty isn’t about choosing sides in the energy debate; it’s about moving beyond political rhetoric and delivering real, practical solutions. That means building a responsible blend of conventional and renewable energy that can deliver results quickly, affordably, and at scale. While grassroots efforts are making a difference, the film makes clear that countries like Canada — with vast resources, expertise, and global standing — are uniquely positioned to lead. But without pipelines, ports, or a clear national strategy, much of that potential remains bottled up. At its core, this crisis isn’t just about electricity. It’s about dignity, opportunity, and, in many cases, life or death.