An article by CineSource Magazine (October 2009 issue)
Bonin’s film supplies a historical perspective on how the Burning Man event became associated with a counter-cultural movement in America. Perhaps more importantly, the film looks critically at how the meaning of the festival has changed over 20 years, from an existential form of expressionism to a more commodified ritual of indulgence.
The documentary itself is an entertaining and informative history of the desert festival that takes place every year in the middle of the desert in Nevada. Olivier Bonin filmed the documentary in the co-operative spirit of Burning Man. All the footage that he took of various groups of artists as they work to bring their creations to the festival is given to each group to use as they please free of charge.
Dust & Illusions: A History of Burning Man, traces the history of the hippie arts festival from its origins. It also offers criticism of the event that, in recent years, has attracted as many as 50,000 people to the middle of the Nevada desert for an eight-day celebration of self-expression, community, and rejection of commodification.
The annual festival’s history is uncovered in the documentary “Dust and Illusions.”
Read the review on Dust & Illusions by the News and Review in Chico, CA.
After 2 successful screening this month, Steve Jones wrote the following review in the San Francisco Bay Guardian: “Burning Man film revives key conflict”. A new film about Burning Man – Dust & Illusions, which has its first public screening tomorrow night at CELLspace in a benefit for the fire arts collective Flaming Lotus Girls … [Read more…]