Directed by Steve Brown and Jessie Deeter
USA, 2013
Spark: A Burning Man Story is at its liveliest when its participants are at their most fractious. Perhaps that’s a bit ironic considering that the yearly Burning Man event in Nevada is typified by how the thousands of people who trek from around the world to the middle of the American desert are characterized by their open, free, giving spirits. But this 90-minute documentary is, essentially, something of a feature-length ad for Burning Man—which has now spread to other regional events year-round. Though it might be a fast-paced education for those who are only vaguely aware of the gathering from its use in pop culture as a punchline, Spark: A Burning Man Story is more surface-level than is fitting or ideal.
Centered around the planning stages and unveiling of the 2012 Burning Man event, Spark focuses on a disparate group of individuals, from the six original co-founders to a trio of up-and-coming artists and thinkers who are struggling to get their projects off the ground in time to be displayed at the gathering. Intermingled with this are a handful of sequences cobbled together of the various exhibits at and people attending Burning Man, some of whom dress up like rabbits, some of whom dye their hair, some of whom skydive, and so on, and so on. The colorful imagery is arresting at first, but by the fourth or fifth montage, it feels like padding to achieve feature-length status. Where Spark is most fascinating is in the one true conflict that arises, one that was such a huge problem that it got Burning Man in the front section of The New York Times, speaking to the real problem at the heart of modern anarchic movements.
In 2012, the organization that runs Burning Man—and yes, there is an actual infrastructure to the event, even if there are only 50 full-time employees, including some of those co-founders—decided to change the way in which people were allowed to attend, offering a ticket lottery unlike the system of years past. As evidenced in some emails and comments given voice by Burning Man employees in the documentary, past attendees didn’t take kindly to what they saw as a shift into corporate structure butting heads with the open, sharing-based society that comprised the past 25 Burning Man events. And thus, we see footage of debates arising, such as when an events director takes issue with the idea of Burning Man being “curated.” If, in years past, the art displayed at Burning Man wasn’t handpicked or judged in advance, why should it be now? Why should curation come into play in a weeklong event? And should said event be dubbed a “festival,” or are there too many controlling connotations connected with that term?
In short, the battle between art and commerce comes alive here, if only for a short while. That’s where Spark: A Burning Man Story is most entertaining, and feels least like a video that could be accompanied by someone asking you for a donation or pledge of any amount to the cause. It may be easy for some of us to roll our eyes at the nearly overwhelming sincerity displayed by Burning Man participants like Katy, who works hard on a massive-sized metallic heart housing hammocks for people to relax and feel loved. But that sincerity manifests in intriguing ways, as in the debate over curation. The passion that these people feel about the ten principles that function as the foundation behind Burning Man’s cult of personality is impossible to ignore or discount.
The sad thing is, directors Steve Brown and Jessie Deeter spend less time than is prudent on showing us how these people’s differing passions collide against each other. Whatever darkness may be portended by the ticketing snafu is wiped away in the final half-hour, which is mostly a series of clips showing us all parts of the weeklong Burning Man event. We see how the trio of artists pulled off their designs—and yes, spoiler alert, they did—and are barraged with color and light that would likely work better as a home movie to look back on fondly than as an entrée for an outside audience. There are flashes strewn like the feather boas one of the artists tries on in an early sequences, signs that Spark is ready to tackle a greater issue of how anarchy spreads and becomes diluted if it’s co-opted by a growing group of people who disagree on the little things, but nothing comes together in full.
Spark: A Burning Man Story isn’t entirely disposable, should Burning Man be a foreign object to the viewer. The film clarifies, even as it enhances and reinforces, some stereotypes surrounding the event and the people who hold it near to their hearts. Burning Man isn’t a joke so much as it is a communal place in which to share in the beauty of coming together. The movie documenting one year of this event’s history is less beautiful, outside of surface-level images (and the thrill of watching skydiving from the point of view of a fellow jumper) and a tease of something deeper and more profound.
— Josh Spiegel