Jason Osder, an assistant professor at George Washington University’s School of Media and Public Affairs, was named to the New York Times’ list of favorite films from the past 25 years for his documentary, “Let the Fire Burn.”
The film is composed entirely of archival footage and interviews and recounts the events leading to a tragic confrontation on May 13, 1985. This tension came to a head when an operation by Philadelphia police to evict MOVE, a black liberation and a back-to-nature lifestyle group, from their home resulted in the use of military-grade explosives by police. The operation ultimately killed 11 people, including five children and destroyed 61 homes.
The film has played in over 50 film festivals around the world and has been nominated for over a dozen awards. It won the best editing prize at the Montreal International Documentary Festival, the International Documentary Association Creative Recognition Prize in Editing, the Cinema Eye Honor for Editing and the Independent Spirit Truer than Fiction Award.