Fanning The Fire wins Colorado film prize

We posted back in April about Fanning The Fire, a short documentary film about bluegrass music that was produced in association with the Bluegrass Heritage Foundation in Texas.

The film follows Texas teen Lucas White in his bluegrass adventure from a novice picker to taking the stage at a major festival over the course of three years. Interspersed with his story are interviews with a number of celebrity grassers; Rhonda Vincent, Claire Lynch, Dan Tyminski, J.D. Crowe and others make an appearance in the film.

In June, the 20-minute film was screened at the Film Festival of Colorado, where it won first place in the Best Documentary Music/Culture category. Congratulations to producer Alan Tompkins and videographer David Seay.

Fanning The Fire will also be screened at these festivals in 2011:

  • Hardacre Film Festival (Tipton, IA – Aug. 5-6)
  • Grand Rapids Film Festival (Grand Rapids, MI –  Aug. 11-13)
  • Rome International Film Festival (Rome, GA – Sept. 9-10)
  • Texas International Film Festival (Dallas, TX – Oct. 1)

An extended edit running over an hour is now available on DVD. It includes the 20 minute short, as well as full length interviews and bonus features. These can be ordered from the Bluegrass Heritage Foundation web site.

Funding for the production of Fanning The Fire was also provided by the Foundation For Bluegrass Music.

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About the Author

John Lawless

John had served as primary author and editor for The Bluegrass Blog from its launch in 2004 until being folded into Bluegrass Today in September of 2011. He continues in that capacity here, managing a strong team of columnists and correspondents.