Spark: A Burning Man Story
| Spark: A Burning Man Story | |
|---|---|
| Directed by | Steve Brown and Jessie Deeter |
| Produced by | Steve Brown and Jessie Deeter |
| Edited by | Andrew Gersh |
Production company | Spark Pictures |
| Distributed by | Filmbuff |
Release dates |
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Running time | 91 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
40°45′14″N 119°16′37″W / 40.753842°N 119.277°W Spark: A Burning Man Story is a 2013 independent documentary[1] movie with its World Premiere at the SXSW Film Festival in Austin TX.[2] That is about some 60,000 or so people that gather from around the globe for a week at the annual festival in Black Rock desert of Nevada to collaborate building a temporary city that operates on a "gifting" economy where nothing is bought or sold. Participants bring in everything; food, water, and shelter. The week features large-scale art installations and partying, at the conclusion of the week a celebration in the burning of a giant effigy in a ritual frenzy and after one week, take it all away called Burning Man.[3]
The film also focus's on the individual artists and their dreams and struggles. The Burning Man organization is made up of 50 year-round staff and over 4,000 volunteers. Burning man operates on ten principles or ideologies written by Founder Larry Harvey.
Principles
- Immediacy: Immediate experience is, in many ways, the most important touchstone of value in our culture. We seek to overcome barriers that stand between us and a recognition of our inner selves, the reality of those around us, participation in society, and contact with a natural world exceeding human powers. No idea can substitute for this experience.
- Radical Self-expression: Radical self-expression arises from the unique gifts of the individual. No one other than the individual or a collaborating group can determine its content. It is offered as a gift to others. In this spirit, the giver should respect the rights and liberties of the recipient.
- Communal Effort: Our community values creative cooperation and collaboration. We strive to produce, promote and protect social networks, public spaces, works of art, and methods of communication that support such interaction.
- Participation: Our community is committed to a radically participatory ethic. We believe that transformative change, whether in the individual or in society, can occur only through the medium of deeply personal participation. We achieve being through doing. Everyone is invited to work. Everyone is invited to play. We make the world real through actions that open the heart.
- Communal Effort: Our community values creative cooperation and collaboration. We strive to produce, promote and protect social networks, public spaces, works of art, and methods of communication that support such interaction.
- Civic Responsibility: We value civil society. Community members who organize events should assume responsibility for public welfare and endeavor to communicate civic responsibilities to participants. They must also assume responsibility for conducting events in accordance with local, state and federal laws.
- Radical Self-reliance: Burning Man encourages the individual to discover, exercise and rely on his or her inner resources.
- Decommodification: In order to preserve the spirit of gifting, our community seeks to create social environments that are unmediated by commercial sponsorships, transactions, or advertising. We stand ready to protect our culture from such exploitation. We resist the substitution of consumption for participatory experience.
- Gifting: Burning Man is devoted to acts of gift giving. The value of a gift is unconditional. Gifting does not contemplate a return or an exchange for something of equal value.
- Radical Inclusion: Anyone may be a part of Burning Man. We welcome and respect the stranger. No prerequisites exist for participation in our community.
- Leaving No Trace: Our community respects the environment. We are committed to leaving no physical trace of our activities wherever we gather. We clean up after ourselves and endeavor, whenever possible, to leave such places in a better state than when we found them.[4]
Production Credits
- Production: Spark Pictures
- Original Music: Joacheim Cooper
- Music Supervisor: Amine Ramer
- Executive Producers: Alec Lorimore, Chris Weitz, David Chang, Robert Zangrillo and Konstantin Othmer
- Editor: Andrew Gersh
- Director of Photography: John Behrens
- Associate Producer: Theresa Desautels
- Produced and Directed: Steve Brown and Jessie Deeter
- Distribution: Filmbuff
Awards
- Official Selection, Ashland Independent Film Festival, 2013
- Official Selection, Seattle International Film Festival, 2013[5]
Critics Reviews
The film has appeared in the following critics reviews:
| Critic | Publication | Date |
|---|---|---|
| Hilary Armstrong | Huffington Post (San Francisco) | March 14, 2013[6] |
| Andy Webster | New York Times (New York) | Auguest 15, 2013[7] |
References
- ^ "New Indie Films, Documentaries in Theaters This Weekend Friday August 16". vimooz. August 16, 2013. Retrieved September 26, 2014.
- ^ "Spark: A Burning Man Story screening". timeout.com. August 1, 2013. Retrieved September 26, 2014.
- ^ "Freedom Is Tricky at This Festival". nytimes. August 13, 2013. Retrieved September 27, 2014.
- ^ "Ten Principles of Burning Man". burningman.com. Retrieved September 26, 2014.
- ^ "SIFF 2013 Archive". siff.net. Retrieved September 27, 2014.
- ^ Armstrong, Hilary (2013-03-14). "The Golden Ticket at SXSW". Huffington Post. Retrieved 2014-09-29.
- ^ Webster, Andy (2013-08-15). "Freedom Is Tricky at This Festival". New York Times. Retrieved 2014-09-29.