By way of BoingBoing.

Each year, about 11 people are killed and over 9000 injured by fireworks.* Stories of young people losing fingers or sustaining severe burns frequently dominate the news around each Fourth of July. In response, the Alliance to Stop Consumer Fireworks argues that ordinary people should just sit back and “leave fireworks to the professionals.”**

Well, what if the only fireworks in America were found in professional shows? What if all fireworks were illegal to buy, sell, or make on one’s own? There might be fewer backyard mishaps involving a few too many beers–but that would also mean the extinction of a devoted network of amateur fireworks clubs across the country. These clubs teach participants proper safety procedures, keep fireworks traditions and technologies found nowhere else alive, and provide a forum for pyrotechnic artists to paint the sky.

This film seeks to document amateur fireworks clubs and their contributions to firework safety, pyrotechnic innovation, and public art. Regardless of whether or not you believe consumer fireworks should be prohibited, without a doubt eliminating these groups would end some beautiful traditions and scatter a resourceful community. In every safety decision there is a trade-off to be made. Fireworks policy is no exception.

* http://www.cdc.gov/ncipc/factsheets/fworks.htm

** http://www.nfpa.org/newsReleaseDetails.asp?categoryID=488&itemID=35047

What do you think?

Actual content coming shortly.