Documentary Filmmaker Robert Minervini’s What You Gonna Do When The World's On Fire? On DVD From Icarus Films This Coming Feb. 11

Icarus Films will be guiding the KimStim Collection release of documentary filmmaker Robert Minervini’s What You Gonna Do When the World's on Fire? to the domestic DVD marketplace on Feb. 11.

Minervini didn’t initially set out to make an award-winning documentary on race relations in America, but instead wanted to develop a film about the rich tradition of black music in Louisiana.   It is always fascinating to see how one thing; one path can lead to an unexpected journey. 

His trip to the south led him to a woman by the name of Judy Hill, a former addict and the owner of the Ooh Poo Pah Doo Bar in New Orleans.   He spends time with her and this leads him to brothers Titus and Ronaldo, who have been raised by a single mom in neighboring Mississippi.   And finally to a third element, which took longer to develop, the introduction of Krystal Muhammad and the New Black Panther movement in the aftermath of the decapitation murder of Jeremy Jackson, the shooting of Alton Sterling by police in Baton Rouge and the death of Phillip Carroll.   

Minervini’s film moves freely between these three elements, circling back to Hill for insights, views of the young brothers jetting around on their bikes and the anger of the New Black Panthers.

The film is shot in black and white, which gives it a different tone and feel … it’s hard to imagine that the same emotions would be felt if this journey was presented in color.   That observation might be a bit subjective.

Nevertheless, once Minervini felt that he a story to tell, he assembled What You Gonna Do When the World's on Fire? and took the finished product out on the festival circuit, opening at the Venice Film Festival in 2018, where it was nominated for the Golden Lion and won not one, but four separate awards, including the Venice Film Festival Fair Play Cinema Award and the Venice Film Festival Premio Vivere da Sportivi Award. 

The film then went on a hopscotch journey across the globe, with stops at the Toronto International Film Festival, Vancouver International Film Festival, Munich International Film Festival and more … followed by a brief arthouse theatrical showcase that took place in mid-August of this year (for the record, the ARR comes in at 179 days).   The awards piled up … as did the glowing reviews.

What You Gonna Do When the World's on Fire? may have started out as one thing, but the cinéma vérité result of Minervini’s journey makes for a far more interesting film.