Fire of Waters is an experimental short film by Stan Brakhage, produced in 1965.
Production Fire of Waters was inspired by a letter Brakhage received from poet Robert Kelly, in which was written: "The truth of the matter is this that: man lives in a fire of waters and will eternally in the first taste."Brakhage Scrapbook: Stan Brakhage Collected Writings 1964-1980, edited by Robert A. Haller (1982) New York: Documentext, p245 Brakhage intended the film as "a play of light and sounds" on that theme. The film contains footage shot in a lightning storm with a jerky handheld camera, occasionally showing the panes of the window through which the footage was filmed.Daniel Barnett (2008) Movement as meaning: in experimental film, Rodopi, page iii-iv Unlike much of the director's work, Fire of Waters contains a soundtrack,James, David E. (2005) Stan Brakhage: Filmmaker, Temple University Press, p43 which has been described as "mushy, noisy and largely ambiguous - maybe rain, maybe paper rustling, maybe just dirt and water spots on the optical soundtrack." The soundtrack actually consists of slowed down bird calls, wind, and speeded up audio of Jane Brakhage giving birth to daughter MyrennaThe Sound Cinema of Stan Brakhage , Los Angeles Film Forum, June 2010. Accessed March 10, 2011. (an event originally documented, albeit silently, in Brakhage's film Window Water Baby Moving).
Reception David E. James described Fire of Waters as one of Brakhage's most interesting films, in large part due to its use of sound. Phil Solomon's experimental film Night Lights was inspired by Fire of Waters.MacDonald, Scott (2005) A critical cinema: interviews with independent filmmakers, University of California Press, p205 Daniel Barnett, in his book Movement as meaning: in experimental film, wrote of his first encounter with Fire of Waters, "I can't ever remember art making me so angry," citing the film's apparent incomprehensibility on initial viewing.
Archive Film elements for Fire of Waters are held by the Academy Film Archive as part of the Stan Brakhage Collection. The film was preserved by the archive in 2018.
See also List of American films of 1965
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