Burning Man Festival: AquaBurn by Bill Breithaupt

AquaBurn is an award-winning documentary film by director Bill Breithaupt showcasing "The Floating World" theme of the 2002 Burning Man Festival. AquaBurn features many of the incredible Burning Man art installations, the imagination and originality that went into their creation, and the artists who conceived them. Unlike conventional documentaries on the Burning Man Festival, AquaBurn captures the true feeling and excitement of the event itself, transporting the viewer to a hot, dusty wonderland without ever leaving home.

AquaBurn introduces you to artists like Peter Hudson, who created Sisyphish, a life-size 3D zoetrope of a swimmer, Nate Smith, who conjures a 20 ft. fire tornado, David Best & his crew’s 78 ft. Temple of Joy - a tribute to 9/11, Deirdre DeFranceaux’s beautiful sculpture of singing sirens, Shane Rogers and the Sky People show off their sky diving skills over Black Rock City, Terry Shreck’s glowing metal sculpture Beacon, and Kiki Petit’s incredible fire waterfall Egeria.
Officially beginning on Baker Beach in 1986, Burning Man began on an impulse when Larry Harvey & Jerry James created a man out of wood and burned him on the beach. Various myths and rumors circulate about what the man represented: a love lost, a memorial to Larry’s father, etc. Larry insists it is not what it represented that matters, but that the act of burning the effigy was the “first recorded form of what we now call ‘radical self-expression’ ” (from Burning Man’s MySpace page) a concept that became his gift to the world. Others joined him for the burn on the beach, bringing their influence and arts, having their own moments of “radical self-expression”. The crowd grew each year, and in 1990 San Francisco police stepped in to halt the expanding event, and a new location was obtained in the Nevada desert.

Now, over 45,000 people travel to Burning Man Festival at Block Rock City in the Nevada desert to participate in an experience that is unlike any found in modern society. For one week in late August they become part of an experimental community, which challenges its members to express themselves and rely on themselves to a degree that is not normally encountered in day-to-day life. They are to provide their own food, water and shelter, enduring sweltering temperatures often above 110 degrees and overwhelming sandstorms.

In the face of such a formidable environment the society flourishes. There is no commerce, Burning Man is built upon a gift economy mentality. No commercialism, no vending, no money at the Burning Man Festival. Gifting is part of the experience. And an experience it is. All around the playa large art installations challenge the elements, rising above the horizon. Theme camps are abundant, each offering their creativity to passers-by in the form of body painting to grilled cheese sandwiches.

Burning Man is the catalyst for boundary pushing artists & scientists. MIT Press Journal article on Nate Smith & Kiki Petit’s projects. People are beginning to take it seriously as an arts festival, rather than just a bunch of crazy hippies partying in the desert. Dr. Megavolt

On Saturday night the man is burned. All the members of this unusual city convene in the center, watching as the 40 foot structure is ignited. As the flames burn higher and the Man falls, each takes away his own memories and experiences.

One would be wary of truly being oneself, even in such an uninhibited environment, if the threat of exploitation of one's art for any commercial purposes was present. It is for this reason that film and video cameras are forbidden without permission at Burning Man. All video cameras must be registered and tagged. If you are considering filming for professional purposes, you must have a commercial agreement on file with the media team prior to your arrival onsite. Even with an agreement on file, you still must have permission from Burning Man (the Burning Man Organization) to use any images commercially.

This is one reason why AquaBurn is so unique and special. Not only is it a Burning Man sanctioned film, it is also highly entertaining, stunningly beautiful and shockingly hip. It has become the most popular Burning Man film with festival attendees, as well as general public.