ABOUT THIS EPISODE
When lightning ignites a firestorm in their redwood forest sanctuary in Northern California, longtime lovers and artists Beth Stephens & Annie Sprinkle are forced to evacuate. Their lives are forever changed as they blend loss and grief into ecosexual art by fusing humor, community care, and environmental awareness into a lush and fiery journey of transformation. Humorously narrated by a mythical white peacock, PLAYING WITH FIRE: AN ECOSEXUAL EMERGENCY documents their adventures in the wake of disaster, while also honoring the broader communities impacted by ecological and social fires. Said Stephens and Sprinkle, "Fire is one of our greatest teachers. It can destroy, but it can also illuminate a path forward. In these turbulent times, PLAYING WITH FIRE offers a sense of hope, eco-sensual pleasures and connection.”
ABout the filmmakers - PLAYING WITH FIRE is the third and final film in their trilogy of groundbreaking queer environmental documentaries. It started with Goodbye Gauley Mountain–An Ecosexual Love Story (2013), which critically investigated mountaintop removal coal mining (MTR) in West Virginia, focusing on the people and communities affected and the corporations employing this extraction technique. Their second film, Water Makes Us Wet-An Ecosexual Adventure (2017) - screening at MoMa in NYC this summer - explores the pleasures and politics of water, and its conservation, commodification, and sustainability.
