Dr Charlie Warner hasn’t been at his A game lately: between having had open hear surgery and being in remission for bone marrow cancer he also is a diabetic. Despite all that the media professor undertook a trip to Burning Man, followed by Belgian film maker jan Beddegenoodts, as an attempt to do one more amazing thing before his body decides it’s over.The short film gives insight to the community spirit of the festival, with Charlie giving career advice to other visitors, installed in one of the tents. The New Yorker was amazed by the connectivity and atmosphere of the festival: “It was amazing how people came up and said ‘yes how can you help me?’ Nobody said, ‘well, what’s this old guy doing here trying to give career advice to me.’ You can do what you’re good at, and what you want to do and nobody judges you.”

He was also awestruck by the artworks that litter the Black Rock Desert during Burning Man, explaining that the vast landscape adds spirituality to the artists’ work: “It’s not only intellectual, but it’s spiritual. Again it’s something that a lot of people don’t really understand about Burning Man, it’s a spiritual experience.”

The documentary is both an exploration of Charlie’s experience of the festival and a reminder of how precious the human body is. Charlie wants us to know that Burning Man teaches its visitors to celebrate death and not to fear it.

Dressed in a green tee with Yoda print, bandanna and sun hat, Charlie’s presence in the desert looks like a unique way to celebrate his ailing body. Fireworks, flashing lights, and naked women and men give the festival the feeling of an enormous rave – with Charlie clearly enjoying the madness.