Living by Fire

Directed by Alexandra Rudnick and Nathan Jandl

How to drink for four hours by a woodstove with a master mason

Description

When you heat with wood, you warm yourself three times: once when you cut it, once when you stack it, and once when you burn it.

Given the many convenient options available to keep our homes warm in the winter, why do we continue to heat with wood? Is it an economic choice, an environmental choice, an emotional choice—or a combination of the three? How do we reconcile the environmental impact of particulate emissions from wood burning, the physical labor involved in obtaining wood and building fires, and the pleasure of a woodstove or fireplace in the home?

We began with these questions. To help us answer them, we sought the wisdom and knowledge of the coordinator for the Dane County Clean Air Coalition, the master and owner of Fireplace Folks, and a young couple who are learning what it means to live by fire.

Other 2011 Student Films

At the Heart of Badger
Beekeeping in Wisconsin
Resident Geese
Tonyawatha's Healing Waters
What's In a Name

Go back to the Student Films Directory.