Most of the money raised for the production of this movie was by advertising in newspapers inviting members of the public to sponsor the movie.
With the exception of Director Matt Daniels (Matthew B.P. Daniels) who plays the family friend Tom, all the characters in Powerless are played by real life siblings, the Wilkins, and even Matt is related to the Wilkins by marriage.
The movie was shot on a standard digital camcorder using predominantly domestic equipment. The crew even cannibalized halogen work lights and other equipment from DIY stores to light the film. The entire film was edited on a home PC in the director's bedroom.
Additional funds for the film were raised by selling space in the film's closing credits on eBay. This unusual funding technique first brought the film to the attention of the national media.
The movie premiered at a sold-out screening at the Cardiff International Film Festival. The originally planned screening of the film sold out within just four days of tickets going on sale, and sold out before the Welsh festival premieres of Vera Drake (2004), The Manchurian Candidate (2004) and Garden State (2004). Festival organizers were forced to move the film to a bigger screen to accommodate demand. This new larger screen also sold out before the screening.