Each year, 60,000 people from around the globe gather in a dusty windswept Nevada desert to build a temporary city, collaborating on large-scale art and partying for a week before burning a giant effigy in a ritual frenzy. Rooted in principles of self-expression, self-reliance and community effort, Burning Man has grown famous for stirring ordinary people to shed their nine-to-five existence and act on their dreams. Spark takes us behind the curtain with Burning Man organizers and participants, revealing a year of unprecedented challenges and growth. When ideals of a new world based on freedom and inclusion collide with realities of the “default world,” we wonder which dreams can survive.
“The portraits here offer West Coast idealism and conviction coupled with an extravagant aesthetic vision. Since we can’t all attend Burning Man, we can be thankful for “Spark,” which is probably the next best thing.” ~ Andy Webster, New York Times
SPARK: A Burning Man Story had its world premiere at the 2013 South by Southwest (SXSW) Festival in Austin, TX, and has also been accepted to the Ashland Independent and Seattle International film festivals. SPARK is the opening night film of the 2013 SF DocFest and opens in New York and Los Angeles on August 16th. Produced and Directed by Steve Brown and Jessie Deeter. Read more at the official website.