April 19, 2010
COLLEGE STATION, Texas -"The Burning Desire", the inspirational original documentary produced by Texas A&M 12th Man Productions , received a "Gold Remi" at the 43rd Annual WorldFest-Houston International Film & Video Festival awards ceremony Saturday in Houston.
"The Burning Desire video has received rave reviews from all Aggies who have seen it, but for the video to receive critical acclaim and the Gold Remi from the world-renowned Houston Film Festival is a real testament to the quality of this documentary," Texas A&M Director of Athletics Bill Byrne said. "Our award-winning staff at 12th Man Productions is the very best in big screen, television show and highlight video productions and they have produced a documentary in The Burning Desire that will have a special place in the hearts of all Aggies throughout history."
The film festival recognized the documentary in the category of Theatrical Feature Film & Video. WorldFest yearly recognizes outstanding film and video productions in over 10 categories and this year received over 3,500 entries from around the world. WorldFest is the oldest Independent Film & Video Festival in the world whose stated mission is to recognize and honor outstanding creative excellence in film and video.
The award is named for the great western artist Frederick Remington, who captured the Spirit of Texas and the American West with his remarkable paintings and sculptures.
"The Burning Desire" chronicles the dramatic events on the Texas A&M campus in November of 1999 when the Aggie Bonfire collapsed, killing 12 students and injuring many others. The documentary focuses on how the rivalry football game between the two flagship universities in Texas became an emotional focal point for all affected.
12th Man Productions is the television production arm of the Texas A&M Athletics Department which produced the 68-minute documentary.
A two-DVD set of "The Burning Desire" is available online at AggieAthletics.com or on campus at the University Bookstore located within G. Rollie White Coliseum. The set retails for $34.99 with a portion of the proceeds going to benefit the Bonfire Memorial Fund. The first DVD is the 68-minute documentary retrospective of the emotional events that unfolded in 1999. Interviews were conducted during 2009 with both head coaches of the game, as well as Aggie football players and those involved in the memorials, yell practices and tributes at both institutions, as well as the rescue and recovery efforts.
The second DVD contains the 1999 football game between the Aggies and the 5th-ranked Texas Longhorns in its entirety with full halftime performances by both bands and extended post-game interviews.