FLOATING ON FIRE

Film tells the story of Floodwall - installation dedicated to the victims of Hurricane Katrina. The author of this work of art is New Orleans artist Jana Napoli. Floodwall is an installation made up of hundreds of drawers, which the Jana collected from destroyed homes, residents of New Orleans. The installation was presented in New York, Houston, New Orleans, Austin, Hamburg, Manheim, Berlin and Wroclaw. In 2010, for personal reasons, she decides to burn Floodwall. In the old district of Algiers Point on the shores of the Mississippi New Orleans firefighters who had saved the city and then restoring them after hurricane now build the installation of seven hundred drawers in the shape of the Great Pyramid. The axis of the film is the construction of the installation, the history of three weeks, which will lead to the final, spectacular show – creamation of Floodwall. Three firefighters, Captain Ronnie Russell and Cheewe who manage the construction and installation team of firefighters, at the beginning this "work of art" is just a mountain of garbage for them. But at the end they are so involved that they behave like art curators of this unusual exhibition. Jana in the film tells from the distance about her artistic madness, a mission that has become an obsession. In the last act, the night on the banks of the Mississippi, several thousand people saying goodbye to the installation of the fire devours. "The city is not silent anymore so it's time to say goodbye to what was sade and painfull," says Jana.

  • Bartek Bartos
    Director
  • Piotr Bartos
    Director
  • Bartek Bartos
    Writer
  • Bartek Bartos
    Producer
  • Jana Napoli
    Producer
  • Jana Napoli
    Key Cast
  • Project Type:
    Documentary
  • Runtime:
    50 minutes
  • Completion Date:
    October 1, 2015
  • Production Budget:
    10,000 USD
  • Country of Origin:
    United States
  • Country of Filming:
    United States
  • Language:
    English
  • Shooting Format:
    Digital
  • Aspect Ratio:
    cinemascope
  • Film Color:
    Color
  • First-time Filmmaker:
    No
  • Student Project:
    No
  • New Orleans Film Festival 2015
    New Orleans
    United States
    October 16, 2015
    North America
Distribution Information
  • MANIFIESTA
    Country: Poland
    Rights: All Rights
Director Biography - Bartek Bartos, Piotr Bartos

The Bartos Brothers – originating from Upper Silesia, Bartek born in ’79 and Piotr born in ’84 are a Wroclaw film duo. The director, producer, and screenwriter, Bartek, having majored in Film and Television production, graduated from the Silesia University Department of Radio and Television. Piotr works as a director of photography, editor, but first and foremost, he is an artist experimenting with the moving image. Until 2008, they have operated separately. Bartek produced documentaries for a Dutch TV station. Amongst others he is credited as producer of “New Generation.” He has also collaborated with such individuals as the Oscar winner Mikie Van Diem (“Character”) on the production of “X-ray eyes.” He has directed cultural and entertainment shows for Polish Public Television TVP1,TVP2 and commercial station TVN. He directed TV shows like: Red Bull X-Fighters – the final closing of the 10th Anniversary Stadium. He also produced and directed TV advertisement and music videos. Piotr pursued an independent creative career, experimenting with film, photography and graphics, He has collaborated with various artists, including Tomek Tryzna, the writer of the novel "Miss Nobody” which was adapted into a film by Andrzej Wajda. Together they have co-authored “Dancing in Shells” a photographic prose published by the G+J House. He has co-directed the film “Answers to Questions Never Asked” along with the music artist L.U.C. for whom he has shot several music videos. In 2013 the Bartos Brothers opened the MANIFIESTAfilm studio in Wroclaw, focused on production of independent auteur films. The film “Boy with a Frog” (Best Film/Magnify Competition/IFF NEW HORIZONS 2014) were their joint directorial feature debut. In 2015 “Floating on fire” art feature doc. about Jana’s Napoli art installation devoted to the victim of Katrina has premiere at New Orleans Film Festival. The same year their short feature film “Egzul” has won ShortCutz Amsterdam.

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Director Statement

"because art should enjoy, and even if sad, the sadness we should enjoy" Nutscracker