US premiere of Nova Ami and Velcrow Ripper’s Incandescence at the Santa Barbara International Film Festival

As wildfires ravage the planet, a new National Film Board of Canada documentary offers extraordinary stories of survival and adaptation

(Image provided by the NFB)

Praise to directing partners Nova Ami and Velcrow Ripper who are giving a US premiere, at The Santa Barbara International Film Festival, of their very timely documentary: ‘Incandescence’. Be ready to truly feel the heat while watching this mesmerizing and very scary "anatomy of fire”. Nova and Velcrow assembled an incredible team of photographers, such as real firemen, who were able to capture close-ups of the true nature of fire with its hypnotic and chaotic faces. As we felt, this last month, the devastation of the fires in the Los Angeles county, this is a movie that will put tears in your eyes. ‘Incandescence’ is a cautionary tale reminding us how vulnerable we are and how mother nature is really in charge of this planet. So, let’s embrace the fragile balance of co-existence and let’s build a path where fire and water, life and death, night and day join forces to build a sustainable planet for humanity to survive and thrive. Don’t miss ‘Incandescence’ at the Santa Barbara International film festival and, meanwhile, enjoy our burning and inspiring conversation with these maverick filmmakers: Nova Ami and Velcrow Ripper.

By Emmanuel Itier

An immersive cinematic experience that transforms our understanding of wildfire, Nova Ami and Velcrow Ripper’s National Film Board of Canada (NFB) feature documentary Incandescence will have its US premiere at the 40th Santa Barbara International Film Festival, which takes place February 4 to 15, 2025.

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. 

“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.

Nova Ami and Velcrow Ripper

More about the film
 

Incandescence by Nova Ami and Velcrow Ripper (105 min)

Produced and executive produced by Shirley Vercruysse for the NFB’s Western Documentary Unit in Vancouver.

Press kit: mediaspace.nfb.ca/epk/incandescence

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 had its Canadian premiere at the Planet in Focus International Environmental Film Festival in Toronto, October 15 to 20, 2024.

About the filmmakers

Nova Ami and Velcrow Ripper are award-winning documentary filmmakers who have collaborated for over a decade on projects exploring our relationship to the climate emergency: Incandescence, an immersive, experiential feature about wildfire, and the award-winning Metamorphosis, a feature documentary about change in this time of climate crisis. Their solo documentary work includes Nova Ami’s Say I Do and Secrets, and Ripper’s Scared Sacred,Fierce Light and Occupy Love.