I am a long time attendee of Burning Man, and I've seen my fair share of films about it, because I find the subject matter so fascinating and so hard to capture. Let me just say that while no film can truly capture what it's like to be there, this film does far and away a better job of relating what the event and related subculture are truly about than any of the other pieces I've seen.Damon Brown is listed as the director and the editor, which I would normally think is suicide for a feature of any kind, but he really did a bang up job of keeping the story moving along. A 105 minute documentary isn't exactly inviting to a lot of people, but this one flew by and left me wanting for more. The depiction of the Burning Man organization was pretty great, if maybe a little too friendly at times. I have a lot of friends who would take these guys to task given the opportunity, but I think it was wise of the filmmakers to not focus on the inside baseball drama in the community, since your average watcher (or attendee) simply wouldn't notice or care.I wish it were in HD... that's my only complaint. Kudos!

The Burning Man festival happens in late August of each year on the scorched playa of the western U.S.A. Over 30,000 revelers congregate to the temporary city of Black Rock, Nevada. This documentary leads us on a 365 day, behind the scenes, countdown to the burning of the man. "Beyond Black Rock" has intimate interviews with many of the keys involved, including the founder of Burning Man. The movie is an insiders view of this eccentric carnival of pyros, performers and artists. Sometimes, the films chronological structure competes with the implied spontaneity of the actual event but the 'burning man' wins in the end. We are left with the ashes everyone's spectacular efforts and a desire to return again the next year.

I cannot say enough about the job these filmmakers did and the monumental task they took on in making this film. First, Burning Man is a topic that has been incredibly marginalized by the media to the point of becoming a recurring joke in The Simpsons (although the director of the Simpsons is at Burning Man every year), and second, to those who DO know about it, its such a sensitive topic and so hard to deliver something that will please the core group.Well, these guys did it, and in style I must say. This doc is witty, fast moving, and most importantly profoundly informational and moving without seeming too close to the material.I simply cannot believe this is a first film for Damon Brown. We can expect great things from him in the years to come, I'm sure!

I had a chance to see Beyond Black Rock at a screening a few weeks ago and I was inspired by its honesty. Burning Man is a complicated and dense topic to try to compress into 2 hours of film. The makers of this film clearly had a passion for the topic when they were producing this movie. The people in front of the camera are interesting and openly share their Burning Man experiences.For those who have attended Burning Man. This movie brings back warm memories and shows a side of BM that many of us never see. If you have not ever had the fortune of attending a Burning Man festival this is a wonderful snapshot of the experience.