The Oscar-nominated documentary B次元官网网址淔ire of LoveB次元官网网址� begins with archival footage of two tiny figures venturing across a frozen tundra towards an active volcano.
Surrounded by mounds of icy slush, French volcanologists Maurice and Katia Krafft trudge ever closer to the rocky lip where at first no plumes of lava can be seen, but as they approach, steaming geysers come into view.
ItB次元官网网址檚 one of several scenes in the Canada-U.S. co-production that depict the coupleB次元官网网址檚 obsessive drive to discover the secrets of volcanoes, a shared passion nearly as fiery as their love story.
U.S.-Canadian producer Shane Boris says he and his collaborators were keen to explore the twin devotion the Kraffts had to their work, and to each other. The feature documentary is largely drawn from archival footage the Kraffts collected over a 25-year span.
B次元官网网址淭he first moment you see that footage, youB次元官网网址檙e completely mesmerized and awestruck by the enormity and brilliance,B次元官网网址� Boris says of selections of archival footage.
B次元官网网址淥nce you also learn that thereB次元官网网址檚 a love story in there too B次元官网网址� thereB次元官网网址檚 this real quest for being in touch with the elemental forces of the planet B次元官网网址� thatB次元官网网址檚 what touched me so deeply about their story.B次元官网网址�
Boris says he has a penchant for films that B次元官网网址減ush the boundaries of conventional forms in order to tell timeless stories.B次元官网网址�
B次元官网网址淔ire of LoveB次元官网网址� is a nature documentary largely driven by visuals and the narration of actress and filmmaker Miranda July.
The film is competing at the Academy Awards on Sunday in the best documentary category. ItB次元官网网址檚 up against U.S. opioid saga B次元官网网址淎ll the Beauty and the Bloodshed,B次元官网网址� Delhi-set bird conservation tale B次元官网网址淎ll That Breathes,B次元官网网址� Ukraine-set orphanage portrait B次元官网网址淎 House Made of SplintersB次元官网网址� and the U.S. film B次元官网网址淣avalny,B次元官网网址� an investigation into the poisoning of Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny.
Streaming now on Disney Plus, B次元官网网址淔ire of LoveB次元官网网址� is also slated to be adapted into a narrative feature in a deal with Searchlight Pictures, with both Boris and the documentaryB次元官网网址檚 director Sara Dosa attached as producers.
Boris and his Canadian collaborators, who include Montreal-based co-producer Ina Fichman and editor Jocelyne Chaput,say they acquired roughly 200 hours of the footage shot by the couple.
The Kraffts were famous across France in the B次元官网网址�70s and B次元官网网址�80s for gathering volcanic samples and getting dangerously close to active volcanoes to understand their mysteries.
They died during one of these expeditions June 3, 1991, when JapanB次元官网网址檚 Mount Unzen volcano erupted disastrously, killing 43 people including the Kraffts.
Chaput says the couple rarely appeared on camera because they dedicated their work to educating others on the wonders and dangers of volcanoes. Therefore, finding footage of the married couple together was a bit like looking for a needle in a haystack.
Chaput, Dosa and another editor sifted through hundreds of hours of geological footage, books, radio programs and interviews to portray the coupleB次元官网网址檚 bond.
The film includes images of Katia and Maurice straddling the edge of craters, taking part in radio interviews, and making television appearances in France.
Chaput says the love story was influenced by a quote found in one of Maurice KrafftB次元官网网址檚 books: B次元官网网址淜atia and volcanoes, itB次元官网网址檚 a love story.B次元官网网址�
B次元官网网址淚n the editing room, striking that balance between allowing yourself to be engrossed by the world of volcanology, without losing the emotional thread of Katia and MauriceB次元官网网址檚 trajectory and love, was key,B次元官网网址� she says.
B次元官网网址淚n the editing room, there was some experimentation B次元官网网址� trial and error.B次元官网网址�
B次元官网网址淔ire of LoveB次元官网网址� explores themes of fear and life through two scientists who made it their life mission to get close to the lethality and burning forces of creation that theyB次元官网网址檝e acknowledged volcanoes to be.
B次元官网网址淪ome scientists believe that you have to be detached from the data which you study in order to see it as objectively as possible, but Maurice and Katia felt that they had to be close and intimate in some ways, like in love with what they were studying,B次元官网网址� adds Boris.
B次元官网网址淭hat was present in our approach to their material and in our approach to the film. I think we went much more for the intimate than for the detached, objective look.B次元官网网址�
Boris, who also worked on B次元官网网址淣avalny,B次元官网网址� which was directed by TorontoB次元官网网址檚 Daniel Roher,says that a large percentage of the planetB次元官网网址檚 surface is actually solidified lava from a volcanic eruption. He sees a profound message in that about life.
B次元官网网址淥ne of the things we learned about volcanoes was that when one thing is destroyed, another thing is created, thatB次元官网网址檚 how volcanoes operate,B次元官网网址� says Boris.
B次元官网网址淲hen Katya and Maurice died unfortunately in the volcano, they became one with them, where new stories and myths were able to be told as a result of the story of their lives.B次元官网网址�
Fichman says Fire of LoveB次元官网网址� was one of the most rewarding projects in her 30-year career.
B次元官网网址淓very film you produce is a really unique experience and I have to say that this has been an extraordinary one for me on many levels,B次元官网网址� says Fichman, whose credits include2017B次元官网网址檚 Emmy nominated B次元官网网址淭he Oslo DiariesB次元官网网址� and 2018B次元官网网址檚 B次元官网网址淟aila at the Bridge.B次元官网网址�
B次元官网网址淣ot just for the Oscar nomination, but for this team and the collaboration with these very talented individuals.B次元官网网址�
The Oscars air Sunday, March 12 at 8 p.m. ET/ 5 p.m. PT on CTV, CTV.ca and the CTV app.
B次元官网网址擭oel Ransome, The Canadian Press
