A Film by Sunburnt
Words by Tommy Moore
The 2023 Total Solar Eclipse took place in Exmouth, Western Australia, a tiny place on the edge of the wild. This once in a lifetime event attracted 20 thousand people from around the globe to watch, as the moon and sun came together for one enchanting moment. These Celestial Things Happen places us underneath these behemoths as they look down upon us, watching as we scurry and worry about. The film serves up the thought that we are here together on earth, floating amongst the heavens, dependent on the light of the sun... and how sweet a thought it can be.
Sam Fisher and Sunburnt have made a name for themselves in their celebration of simplicity. Analogue practices, the most scenic of routes, and the removal of unnecessary noise has shaped their two films to date, where they slip off into a serene iteration of life that feels like an old western with more color and true emotion.
How Sam and Sunburnt refine their work is what I continue to find impressive. Proper simplicity, simplicity where every element serves the soul of the story being told, is elusive. In These Celestial Things Happen, Sam and Sunburnt grasp hold of the viewer's focus with the worn hands of a friendly neighbor, leading all of us down a path that's gone dark with the sun.
In tandem with the film's launch, Sunburnt released a Spotify playlist including music from the film a breadth of similar, wandering soundscapes. We've haven't turned it off since we found it. Listen to Celestial Sounds here.
Prior to These Celestial Things Happen, Sunburnt made their debut in 2021, putting their lens on the classic story of an escape to the country.
In 2020, three friends found themselves without a job and aimless. With the world screeching to a halt, the boys decided to get out of the Covid-19 chaos of Los Angeles. Their goal was Montana, and the means to get there, trainhopping. To them, there was no better way to let out the bottled in energy from being on pandemic lock down. They brought 15 rolls of super 8mm film and documented the journey. The tale that unfolds defines Sunburnt. Not knowing how, but doing it anyway. Worry about everything else and the burn once they're there... And getting from here, to there, is where they arrive.
THESE CELESTIAL THINGS HAPPEN
A Film by Sunburnt
Words by Tommy Moore