This is POV.
I'm Pete Schwaba, host of Wisconsin Public Television's
"Director's Cut."
Tonight, we bring you ritual,
danger and the absolute beauty of fireworks
in Director Viktor Jakovleski's Brimstone and Glory.
The award-winning film takes viewers
to the National Pyrotechnic Festival in Tultepec, Mexico.
What better place could there be for a festival like this
than in a town where over three quarters of the residents
work in the pyrotechnic industry?
The festival was created to honor San Juan De Dios,
the patron saint of firework makers,
and if ever there was a group
that needed a patron saint... Well, I digress...
The film was shot over a three-year period
and from a cinematic standpoint,
a director could not ask for a better setting
for his first feature-length documentary.
To capture such illuminating scenery, Jakovleski,
who actually prefers the term "non-fiction" to "documentary,"
used a high-speed phantom camera, while at the same time
experimenting with extreme slow-motion.
The results are breathtaking,
even if you're not watching on a big screen.
Brimstone and Glory starts now
on Wisconsin Public Television,
your home for independent film.