PROVIDENCE, R.I. (AP) — WaterFire is coming to the screen.
An hour-long documentary designed to pull back the curtain on Providence’s popular public art installation is in the works, the first on-screen look at the city’s biggest tourist draw and one that has helped transform its downtown.
“There’s a terrific story behind this,” said Joe Rocco, of RocJo Productions, a former local broadcast journalist who is making the film. “Nobody’s ever told this story.”
WaterFire — the lighting of as many as 100 bonfires in the three rivers that cut across the city’s downtown — has become an icon of Providence, which has gained national attention for its use of the arts as a catalyst for urban revitalization. The event, funded through private donations and sponsorships, makes full use of waterways that had been paved over for much of the 20th century but are now a platform for showcasing the city’s civic vitality.
WaterFire is such a part of the local fabric, in fact, that Gov. Lincoln Chafee opted against having a costly inaugural ball after his swearing-in in January 2011, instead holding several receptions along the river against the backdrop of the bonfires.
Part of the aim of the documentary, which has yet to be named, is to let viewers in on something they likely don’t consider as they take in the flames on a Saturday night: how the event is pulled off.
“Really wonderful, moving art should come across as directly and sincerely and simply as possible,” said Barnaby Evans, WaterFire’s founder.
In addition to the full-time WaterFire staff, anywhere from 150 to 400 volunteers help make each WaterFire happen, Evans said. Organizers have to consider a slew of logistics concerning everything from the firewood, boats and insurance to the well-choreographed musical selections, weather conditions and tides. And those who light and tend the fires are actually part of the art — they are part of the performance as much as the fire is.
Said Rocco: “We want the viewer to be exhausted after they see that segment.”
Rocco, who produced an award-winning documentary on the Rhode Island Reds hockey club a few years ago, had been contemplating a project on WaterFire for several years. He couldn’t raise enough money to support it last year, he said, but several months ago hit his funding target (he declined to say how much). A premiere is planned for December at The Vets.
The film team has shot footage at two WaterFires this summer and plans to shoot at two more.
“Everybody we interviewed has their own way of experiencing WaterFire,” said Jim Karpeichik, the director of photography.
One unforgettable moment he recently captured on film: a marriage proposal.
Rocco is looking for suggestions for the documentary’s title. A few so far: Cool Burn, WateronFire and Ignite the Nite.
