Gone Off Deep Presents
BEYOND BLACK ROCK will cross the Atlantic next week for two test screenings as we prepare for final tweaks prior to release.
On Saturday May 1, the film will be screened at the Convergence Sustainable Living Festival in Dublin, Ireland. Burning Man Founder Larry Harvey and BEYOND BLACK ROCK Producer Michael Wilson will introduce the film at 7:30 PM. The screening will be held at the Sugar Club on Leeson Street, and Wilson and Harvey can likely be found at the After Party following.
One week later, on May 8, BEYOND BLACK ROCK will be unveiled for the U.K. burner community. This second test screening will be part of the London Burning Man Film Festival at The Ritzy Cinema in Brixton. The screening is slated for 8:45 PM and will once again be introduced by Michael Wilson.
Festival organizer and Burning Man veteran Yomi Ayeni describes the London Burning Man Film Festival as “a chance to gather the lonesome tribes of the playa. It is a chance to remind ourselves that there's another world out there. A place that celebrates creativity, welcomes everyone irrespective of how you look, and most importantly a home where you can be who you really are..."
Yomi Ayeni
“Beyond Black Rock is the most anticipated of the Burning Man films,” Ayeni said. “Unlike other efforts, this is a film by a group of burners for burners. While watching other productions film Burning Man, it becomes apparent why they always miss the most poignant aspects of the event. Burning Man does not start at the gate, when thousands roll in. No! It starts when the man falls and people wish each other a "Happy Burn Year!" This is where BBR is different, the camera has catalogued the fall and rise of the man, about friggin time too!”
Wilson sees the two screenings as valuable sources of feedback before final edits.
“I feel very grateful to be part of both of these festivals,” he said. “They are coming at a great time for us. We're going to show the first full cut of the film (Damon's 'director's cut') and it'll be great to be able to show it in front of large audiences to be able to get some real objective feedback before we come back to finish the film.”
Wilson also looks forward to extending the same spirit of community that makes Burning Man so unique to fellow filmmakers.
“It's very cool that these festivals were organized by some of the Burning Man team who have become very good friends of ours over the past two years, as well as another filmmaking team (Purple Productions) who had just completed their film, DUST DEVILS, when we met them last year on the playa,” he said.
“DUST DEVILS is definitely my favorite of the Burning Man films done thus far, and we have great respect for Aprile and Dearbhla at Purple; it's been really rewarding to be able to help them out and for them to help us. I can't imagine a situation where two documentary filmmakers would be promoting each others' ‘competing films’ so closely.”