Brimstone & Glory is a documentary produced by the Department of Motion Pictures that tells the story of Tultepec, a town in Mexico dedicated to the making and celebration of fireworks. It’s a poetic, visually stunning film that the National Board of Review recognized as one of the top five documentaries of 2017, and it is screening at this year’s Louisiana International Film Festival.
Director Viktor Jakovleski initially conceived of the film as something that he would produce and his friend and colleague Benh Zeitlin (Beasts of the Southern Wild) would direct. As the concept developed though, Benh decided to come onboard as producer and composer so that Viktor could direct it. My coverage of #LIFF2018 continues with this interview I did with Viktor.
The two places in the world that I’ve seen where people love to celebrate the most are in New Orleans and Mexico.” – Viktor Jakovleski
Some of the things that we discuss include
- How the film came about because of a coincidental or serendipitous encounter at a party
- The distinct shooting style and challenges that arise when shooting with a Phantom camera that can shoot at 1500 frames per second
- What it was like collaborating with Benh, who was both a producer and composer on the project, an unusual combination
- Why the documentary is a sort of like a musical and the unique way that the music was developed during post-production
- How to approach dangerous things with reverence
I continue my coverage of #LIFF2018 with director Viktor Jakovleski:
Brimstone & Glory will be playing at #LIFF2018 on Friday, April 20 at 7:00 PM. Tickets are available through LIFF’s website.
Want to hear another conversation with someone who makes a living out of living dangerously? Then you might appreciate this podcast interview with Jay Caputo, a stuntman who has worked on projects like Planet of the Apes, Pirates of the Caribbean, and The Amazing Spider-Man.
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Sponsor for this Episode
#- LIFF 2018
- Viktor Jakovleski on IMDb
- Brimstone & Glory
- Department of Motion Pictures, the production company behind the film
- Cinereach, the company that helped to finance Brimstone & Glory
- Phantom cameras that can shoot over 1500 fps
- Shortcut for the podcast: nicksav.show
Additional music for the show provided by Rob Costlow.
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Films Mentioned
- The Amazing Spider-Man
- Beasts of the Southern Wild
- Brimstone & Glory
- Glory at Sea (short)
- Only Lovers Left Alive
- Mixed Signals (short)
- Pirates of the Caribbean
- Planet of the Apes
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Book Mentioned
- The Labyrinth of Solitude
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