To get to Burning Man, head to Reno – a city of 500,000 people – then keep going a hundred miles or so in the direction of nowhere. The 60,000 Burners and assorted  event personnel making this pilgrimage annually definitely Leave a Trace on the local community – although nowhere near the impact of the 800,000 people attending the Hot August Nights hot rod show. This new documentary, Event Horizon, examines how Burning Man affects the locals.

Here’s the description of the documentary:

“Event Horizon” is a documentary look at Burning Man’s impact upon the Reno area. Burning Man organizers, local leaders and personalities, and extensive footage of local arts, events, and activities, tell the story of what it means when, once a year, over 50,000 people descend into the region from all corners of the globe to build “Black Rock City.” The film explores Burning Man’s history, some of the myths and misunderstandings that surround and sensationalize Burning Man’s culture, and how the event has come to survive, grow, and evolve by working closely with its neighbors. The film focuses on the challenges and benefits brought to Reno and its sibling communities which serve as the final outposts of civilization to these migrations, and on how Burning Man principles are permanently transforming the local arts and culture. As an experiment in radical expression, radical inclusion, and civic, immediate, and participatory community, Black Rock City has many lessons for individuals and other communities, and Event Horizon is both a study and celebration of Burning Man’s reverberations out into the wider world.