A Single Spark

Nowadays, unannounced power outages have become a rarity. This sparked a desire in me to capture a night from the 1990s—those moments when the lights went out and the entire neighborhood spilled outdoors. I wanted to tell a story of elders waving cattail fans and children chasing fireflies in the dark. I returned to my hometown to scout locations, sharing the story repeatedly with elders born in the '60s and '70s. I refined the details until they felt the narrative truly reflected the spirit of that era. Yet, as I wove more historical elements into the fabric of the story, the picture that emerged was no longer as lighthearted as my childhood memories suggested. Consequently, the title evolved into what it is today:  A Single Spark .