Incandescence, an immersive documentary that promises to transform our understanding of wildfire, will have its US premiere at the 40th Santa Barbara International Film Festival.
Incandescence, a documentary by Nova Ami and Velcrow Ripper had its Canadian premiere at the 2024 Planet in Focus International Environmental Film Festival in Toronto.
Wildfires are burning with increasing intensity around the world. Following the rhythms of the seasons, Incandescence weaves on-the-ground footage with extraordinary stories of courage and community. Made in collaboration with firefighters and impacted communities, the film takes shape from the ancient patterns embodied in fire: destruction, aftermath, and rebirth.
Filmmakers Nova Ami and Velcrow Ripper commented, “As wildfires devastate communities in the Los Angeles area, our hearts go out to everyone impacted, both humans and animals. We are grateful for the hard work of first responders from around the world, who put themselves on the line for their communities. We hope the screening of Incandescence at the Santa Barbara International Film Festival will offer an extra layer of meaning in the wake of these fires.”
Every summer, wildfires increasingly ravage places around the globe, darkening the skies with thick smoke and reducing communities to little more than ash and debris. Incandescence weaves together immersive on-the-ground footage with first-person accounts from Indigenous Elders, first responders and ordinary people forced to react to a rapidly evolving ecosystem.
As climate change continues to escalate, full suppression measures have largely failed, leading to bigger, more intense mega-fires. But there is another way. Indigenous Knowledge Keepers explain that the First Nations people traditionally used controlled burns to regenerate the land. As one woman explains, fire is like a grizzly bear running to stay alive. But instead of fighting this insatiably hungry beast, working with nature transforms fire’s capacity to destroy into a powerful force for growth and renewal.
As we experience more and more climate events such as mega-fires, we can direct our attention to how to preserve and protect our communities, and prevent future events from happening. We can look at building our communities as a path to sustainability; supporting each other, knowing each other, sharing ideas, and in the immediate aftermath, being able to provide mental health support for those directly impacted, and housing and living support for those who are displaced. And moving into the future: working together with Indigenous practices with the land, re-building and constructing with fire-resistant and sustainable materials, fuel mitigation and moving away from using fossil fuels.
Incandescence is produced and executive produced by Shirley Vercruysse for the NFB’s Western Documentary Unit in Vancouver.