- Welcome to Independent Lens .
I'm Pete Schwaba, host of Wisconsin Public Television's
Director's Cut .
Tonight, we bring you the powerful documentary
Man on Fire .
This film is set in Grand Saline, Texas,
a small town near Dallas
with a long and troubling history of racism
that the town's residents did not talk about.
That is, until Charles Moore, an elderly white preacher,
self-immolated to bring focus to his town's dark past.
What drives a man
who has not necessarily been the victim of racism himself
to go to such dramatic lengths?
That is exactly what director Joel Fendelman wanted to know.
He uses Moore's death
to scratch beneath the surface of the racism in Grand Saline.
Fendelman captures the authenticity of rural East Texas
with engrossing interviews with several citizens of Grand Saline
including a city administrator, business owners,
and religious leaders to better understand
their perspectives on racism in their community.
Man on Fire was actually Fendelman's thesis film
at the University of Texas.
He calls the film an investigation
into the human spirit.
The director was fascinated
by his subject's goodness and love of humanity,
but also overwhelmed
by the extreme measures used to take his own life.
The inspiration for the film
comes from producer and Grand Saline native, James Sanchez,
who has long been fascinated
by the stories of his hometown.
There's no question that Moore's willingness
to take his own life in a such horrifying fashion
is controversial,
but it did what he set out to do
along with the help of filmmakers Fendelman and Sanchez.
Because of these three men,
the racism in this small town is no longer a secret.
Man on Fire starts now on Wisconsin Public Television,
your home for independent film.