Burning Man Festival

This film is the first of two documentaries by Joe Winston on the Burning Man Festival, America's largest countercultural event.

“In style and substance, a terrific piece of work! Try to imagine a combination of ‘Apocalypse Now,’ ‘Woodstock’ and ‘The Road Warrior.’" - Chicago Tribune, August 1996.

For over ten years, this unique gathering has been held in a barren spot of the Nevada Desert. Attracting over 30,000 participants, the burning of the Man culminates a five-day carnival of artistic creativity and deviance from societal norms.

Celebrants dress in costumes, strut naked, dance in the nude, create religions, race in rocket-powered cars, shoot automatic weapons, or do whatever it is they don't get enough of at home. The festival founder refers to this semi-structured anarchy as "a laboratory for reinventing civilization." Experience it on video – it’s cooler and less dusty than actually going out to the desert.