''Let the Fire Burn'' is a 2013 documentary film about the events leading up to and surrounding a 1985 stand-off between the black liberation group

MOVE Move may refer to: People *Daniil Move (born 1985), a Russian auto racing driver Brands and enterprises * Move (company), an online real estate company * Move (electronics store), a defunct Australian electronics retailer * Daihatsu Move Gov ...

and the

Philadelphia Police Department The Philadelphia Police Department (PPD or Philly PD) is the law enforcement agency, police agency responsible for law enforcement and investigations within the City of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The PPD is one of the oldest municipal police a ...

. The film is directed and produced by Jason Osder and was released by

Zeitgeist Films Zeitgeist Films is a New York-based distribution company founded in 1988 which acquires and distributes films from the U.S. and around the world. In 2017, Zeitgeist entered into a multi-year strategic alliance with film distributor Kino Lorber. ...

in October 2013.

Synopsis

The

organization was originally established as a "back to nature" movement that practiced "

green Green is the color between cyan and yellow on the visible spectrum. It is evoked by light which has a dominant wavelength of roughly 495570 Nanometre, nm. In subtractive color systems, used in painting and color printing, it is created by ...

" methods. In 1985, the Philadelphia Police Department decided to take action to evict the group from their row house at 6221 Osage Avenue. When gunfire broke out and

tear gas Tear gas, also known as a lachrymator agent or lachrymator (), sometimes colloquially known as "mace" after the early commercial aerosol, is a chemical weapon that stimulates the nerves of the lacrimal gland in the eye to produce tears. In ad ...

was not enough to pull the MOVE members out of the house, the police decided to drop

explosive An explosive (or explosive material) is a reactive substance that contains a great amount of potential energy that can produce an explosion if released suddenly, usually accompanied by the production of light, heat, sound, and pressure. An expl ...

s on the house. A fire soon began to blaze, endangering the several children now trapped inside the house. In a controversial decision, the police opted to "let the fire burn", resulting in the destruction of over 60 homes and the death of five children and six adults. Officials said they feared that MOVE would shoot at the firefighters.25 Years Ago: Philadelphia Police Bombs MOVE Headquarters Killing 11, Destroying 65 Homes
democracynow.org. Retrieved 14 May 2015.

Aftermath

Eleven people (MOVE founder

John Africa John Africa (July 26, 1931 – May 13, 1985), born Vincent Leaphart, was the founder of MOVE, a Philadelphia-based, predominantly black organization active from the early 1970s and still active. He and his followers were killed at a residential ...

, five other adults, and five children aged 7 to 13) died in the resulting fire, and more than 250 people in the neighborhood were left homeless. Ramona Africa, one of the two survivors, said that police fired at those trying to escape. The investigation commission that followed found that city leaders and law enforcement had acted negligently, but no criminal charges were filed.

Awards

*2013:

Tribeca Film Festival The Tribeca Festival is an annual film festival organized by TriBeCa Productions, Tribeca Productions. It takes place each spring in New York City, showcasing a diverse selection of film, episodic, talks, music, games, art, and immersive progra ...

, Official Selection. Award for Best Editing in a Documentary, Best New Documentary Filmmaker special jury mention. *2013:

Hot Docs Canadian International Documentary Festival The Hot Docs Canadian International Documentary Festival is the largest documentary festival in North America. The event takes place annually in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The 27th edition of the festival took place online throughout May and June ...

, Official Selection *2013:

Philadelphia Film Festival The Philadelphia Film Festival is a film festival founded by the Philadelphia Film Society held in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The annual festival is held at various theater venues throughout the Greater Philadelphia Area. Overview The annual f ...

, Jury Award for Best Local Feature *2013: Antenna, Australia's International Documentary Festival, Best International Documentary Film *2013:

Gotham Awards The Gotham Awards () are American film awards, presented annually to the makers of independent films at a ceremony in New York City, the city first nicknamed "Gotham" by native son Washington Irving, in an issue of ''Salmagundi'', published on ...

, nominated for Best Documentary Feature *2013:

International Documentary Association International Documentary Association (IDA), founded in 1982, is a non-profit 501(c)(3) that promotes nonfiction filmmakers, and is dedicated to increasing public awareness for the documentary genre. Their major program areas are: Advocacy, Filmm ...

Awards, nominated for Best Feature and Best Editing *2013:

Independent Spirit Awards The Independent Spirit Awards (abbreviated Spirit Awards and originally known as the FINDIE or Friends of Independents Awards), founded in 1984, are awards dedicated to independent filmmakers. Winners were typically presented with Poly(methyl m ...

, nominated for 19th Annual Stella Artois Truer Than Fiction Award *2013:

Cinema Eye Honors The Cinema Eye Honors are awards recognizing excellence in nonfiction or documentary filmmaking and include awards for the disciplines of directing, producing, cinematography and editing. The awards are presented each January in New York and have b ...

, nominated for Debut Feature Film and Best Editing

Reception

Following its world premiere at the 2013 Tribeca Film Festival, the film received uniformly positive reviews and had been a critical success throughout its theatrical run. At review aggregator

Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee, and Stephen Wang ...

, the film received overwhelmingly positive reviews with a 97% "certified fresh rating" and a consensus stating that the film is "Smartly edited and heartbreakingly compelling". "So I'll get right to it the only truly great film I've seen at this year's Tribeca Film Festival is Jason Osder's searing ''Let the Fire Burn''... It goes without saying that this masterpiece about an astounding and forgotten moment in recent

American history The history of the lands that became the United States began with the arrival of the first people in the Americas around 15,000 BC. Numerous indigenous cultures formed, and many saw transformations in the 16th century away from more densely ...

should be seen far and wide; every American is an ambitious goal, so as many as possible will do. But let's just start with you, anonymous reader, and we'll go from there." -Brandon Harris, ''

Filmmaker Magazine ''Filmmaker'' is a quarterly publication magazine covering issues relating to independent film. The magazine was founded in 1992 by Karol Martesko-Fenster, Scott Macaulay and Holly Willis. The magazine is now published by the IFP (Independent Film ...

'' "Critic's pick...Ranking with recent found-footage efforts like ''

The Autobiography of Nicolae Ceausescu ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the m ...

'' and '' Senna,'' yet joining a still longer lineage, ''Let the Fire Burn'' relentlessly sustains its tragic momentum." -Nicolas Rapold, ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'' "The doc's focus on period material confers an in-the-moment feel to the final product, bringing urgency to a story many in the audience will never have heard but which remains relevant after almost three decades." -John DeFore, ''

The Hollywood Reporter ''The Hollywood Reporter'' (''THR'') is an American digital and print magazine which focuses on the Cinema of the United States, Hollywood film industry, film, television, and entertainment industries. It was founded in 1930 as a daily trade pap ...

'' "Noteworthy for its "historical '' verite'' " approach – no talking head interviews, no narration, no B-roll footage or reenactments – ''Let the Fire Burn'' brings the tragic events of May 13, 1985, back to life, forcing audiences to ask how police, fire department and city officials could stand by and watch as a

helicopter A helicopter is a type of rotorcraft in which lift and thrust are supplied by horizontally spinning rotors. This allows the helicopter to take off and land vertically, to hover, and to fly forward, backward and laterally. These attributes ...

dropped an incendiary device on the MOVE compound in West Philadelphia, and then let the subsequent fire rage into the night, ultimately leveling three city blocks and destroying 61 homes." -Steven Rea, ''Philly.com'' "Dispensing with the usual retrospective accounts and analytical chin-scratching, Osder creates both intensity and intimacy, inviting viewers simply to watch and listen as a tragedy born of unchecked aggression, incoherent ideology and appallingly faulty logic unfolds." -Ann Hornaday, ''

The Washington Post ''The Washington Post'' (also known as the ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'') is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C. It is the most widely circulated newspaper within the Washington metropolitan area and has a large nati ...

'' "It's remarkable, gripping storytelling, told in grainy footage that nonetheless crackles with life, and it leaves the viewer angry at the senseless loss of lives and property. A clergyman, on the hearings panel, quietly reminds us what's at the heart of the entire, yearslong war between the police and MOVE: that it's possible to forget, in the heat of anger and procedure, that the person on the other side of a conflict is a human being." -Moira Macdonald, ''

The Seattle Times ''The Seattle Times'' is a daily newspaper serving Seattle, Washington, United States. It was founded in 1891 and has been owned by the Blethen family since 1896. ''The Seattle Times'' has the largest circulation of any newspaper in Washington (s ...

'' "Resisting the urge to include present-day interviews with any of the on-camera subjects which would have broken the you-are-there intimacy and intensity of the archival footage the documentary plays like a perfectly preserved time capsule whose contemporary relevance is without question. By calmly and unsettlingly laying out a snapshot of a city's darkest moments, ''Let The Fire Burn'' transcends its era to speak to the troubling issues of class, race and power that still haunt America 28 years later." -Tim Grierson, ''

Screen International ''Screen International'' is a British film magazine covering the international film business. It is published by Media Business Insight, a British B2B media company. The magazine is primarily aimed at those involved in the global film business. ...

References

External links