“Fire of Love:” The Krafft’s Fatal Love for Volcanoes

CHRISTIANE AMANPOUR, CHIEF INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR: Now, we turn to a burning love story between one couple and the natural world. The documentary, “Fire of Love”, tells the epic tale of scientists Katia and Maurice Krafft and their lifelong quest to discover the stories and the secrets of volcanoes. Since its release, the film has received critical acclaim and an Oscar nomination. Director Sara Dosa joins Hari Sreenivasan to discuss the incredible footage shot by the pair during their daring expeditions.

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HARI SREENIVASAN, CORRESPONDENT: Thanks. Sara Dosa, thanks so much for joining us. First of all, when you look at the premise of this movie, it kind of — just blows your mind. What? There was a couple that studied volcanoes? How did you find a story?

SARA DOSA, DIRECTOR, “FIRE OF LOVE”: First, just thank you so much for having me on today. It’s great to be here. I first found the story, actually, serendipitously while doing research with my team on the last from I directed, that’s a film called “The Seer and the Unseen”. And it tells the story of an Icelandic woman who is in communication with spirits of nature. And we wanted to open that film actually with archival imagery of erupting volcanoes in Iceland. And once we went about the research, we learned about Katia and Maurice Krafft because not that many people had films of erupting volcanoes in Iceland before but they had. Once we learned about their love for each other and the planet, we were absolutely hooked. They — seems like they had this kind of a mythical love story. The fact they were in love with each other and the earth. So, that got the ball rolling on making “Fire of Love.”

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Alone, I could only dream volcanoes. Together they can reach them. They meet on a blind date at a cafe. From here on out, life will only be volcanoes, volcanoes, volcanoes.

MAURICE KRAFFT, VOLCANOLOGIST (through translator): it’s hard for volcanologists to live to live together. It’s volcanic. We erupt often.

SREENIVASAN: Tell me about this couple. That’s, sort of, so fascinating to me. How did two people who love volcanoes so much decide to do this?

DOSA: Yes, Katia and Maurice Krafft are such singular individuals. They met as university students in Alsace, France in the late ’60s. And they realized that they both possessed this rare passion for volcanoes. Both of them grew up in postwar France right along the German border and they both possessed a, kind of, sense of disillusionment with humanity. They kind of felt that humans destroyed more than they had created. Whereas they had this idealistic vision of volcanoes as this creative force that, you know, that created land that brought life to the world. And having that unique perspective at such a young age caused them to bond. Once they began traveling the world together, exploring erupting volcanoes, they experienced a kind of transcendence, perhaps, you can call it, by witnessing something that powerful, that beguiling as a volcanic eruption. There’s kind of no turning back. They wanted to dedicate their lives towards exploring that mystery and the fact they had each other along the way, it made it all the more important and meaningful for them.

SREENIVASAN: Tell us about all of these reels of footage that you must have gone through, all of these still photos that you used in here. I mean, they were documenting all of this in a park for scientific research, right?

DOSA: They were, yes. Katia and Maurice and their cohorts when they first started out working in volcanology were really devoted towards capturing volcanic phenomena on camera because, you know, no volcano erupts the same way twice. This is fleeting phenomena. And when you can set it to the camera, through still photography or cinematography, it becomes, kind of, scientific data that allows study time and time again. So, their work was extremely important. And it also enabled their adventures to move forward because they were supported for this kind of documentation work as well. But that caused them to shoot just hundreds of hours of footage. It wasn’t just data. It was also a conduit for them to connect with, kind of, the beauty and the magic and the mystery of the planet that they were absolutely in love with capturing that imagery as well. Catching responses with celebrities in France — they became celebrities over time in France because people were so intrigued by this unique life — life’s pursuit and this love story. And so, they appeared on television shows, on the news, they even had their own educational program for kids. So, I’ll just say, along with all of the footage that they themselves shot, there is a visual and audio record of them that was available to us to get to use it as well.

SREENIVASAN: Yes, we don’t — I guess we take it for granted now because we’ve grown up seeing things that — well, before these two, no one had ever seen rivers of lava flowing, right? Unless you happen to live near a volcano or some of the types of eruptions. Now, of course, we go do that with bigger cameras and lenses and — but they were really the pioneers of this. Bringing back this footage of almost another world to the rest of us.

DOSA: Yes, that’s a beautiful way of putting it. And of course, people have lived in relationship with volcanoes for thousands and thousands of years. Depicting it through art and through stories. But the way that Katia and Maurice used their cameras to document volcanoes, it — again, it wasn’t just scientific data. I really believe it was art. There’s such a palpable love that radiates behind their frames. You can really feel that kind of connectedness. That desire to be as close as possible. And they did in fact go as close as possible to get these kinds of shots. I’m still in awe of the kinds of compositions that they captured, especially considering the, you know, the heat. One of my favorite shots of Katia in Iceland in the mid-’80s, when she gets up so close to the edge of the Krafla Volcano, and she has a thermometer in her hands, and apparently that reading was 1,200-degree Celsius. And there’s moments where you can kind of detect a smile on her face as she is coming back. And she’s just in awe. She’s just absolutely in love. Yet that is just utterly dangerous what she is experiencing in that moment.

SREENIVASAN: Yes, you know — and there are these really wonderful, kind of, lighthearted moments as well. Yes, they have the camera there to capture kind of the potential eruption and all those other stuffs, but it’s also a little bit like, you know, your home videos that just happened to be right next to a volcano.

DOSA: Absolutely, yes. Katia and Maurice were known for their sense of humor. They were very playful people. That comes across absolutely in the footage. And it is something that their friends and colleagues and family members, who we actually interviewed as well, always spoke about. But as a team, we talked a lot about their humor, both in terms of how we can make sure that their personality was captured in our film. But also, what it means to kind of live in relationship to death the way the two of them did. You know, they knew that they could die at any moment pursuing such dangerous work, and that almost seemed to free them up to understand the kind of absurdity to life, so to speak. There’s a levity to things. They were kind of freed from lesser concerns, perhaps. They would always comment on what they viewed as, kind of, petty and vain human preoccupations. But to be close to a volcano, it was kind of akin to being with a divine in a way. And that seemed to allow them to dwell on this, kind of, playful humorous worlds that were bound up with their life’s philosophy too.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The unknown is not something to be feared. It is something to go toward.

KATIA KRAFFT, VOLCANOLOGIST (through translator): I like when he walks in front of me. If he is going to die, I’d rather be with him.

SREENIVASAN: You know, they kind of took different approaches. You, at one point, describe one of them as a bird and the other as, what, a seal. Explain that.

DOSA: Sure, yes. Yes, in that scene we call — we say, Katia is more like a bird, Maurice is more like an elephant seal. And we used these shots of them each playing. Katia playing with the bird, it’s kind of like diving and she’s kind of bobbing and weaving with it. And then Maurice is egging on this bold elephant seal, just a very dangerous animal, yet he’s kind of beckoning it to come towards him. That comparison, we really wanted to use their own footage to describe their personalities. And we also — that specific reference actually comes from – – it’s inspired by a few lines in their obituary that describe them in similar terms. I should say that every creative choice that we made in the film was really guided by Katia and Maurice themselves. We really saw them as our North Star. But as you said, they were very different people. They have this shared goal and they knew that they needed each other to support each other in pursuing this meaningful life of love with their volcanoes. But they did have different approaches that created conflict at times. Katia was thought to be a bit more methodological. She, by no means, was cautious. She was extremely bold and courageous. But Maurice was a bit more impetuous. He’s just so desire to be as close to volcanoes as possible that he would risk absolutely everything. He was known to have certain, kind of, antics, or to really be such a daredevil that sometimes Katia believed that his daring ways would jeopardize the legitimacy of their scientific work. And so, that caused them to tussle. However, they would always, kind of, reconcile knowing, again, that they had to if they were going to live this life of purpose that they — so, you know — yes, devoted their lives to pursuing.

SREENIVASAN: They shifted at one point from studying the red volcanoes, the hot lava that we think about to the gray volcanoes which spew tons of ash and cause all kinds of other destruction. Why did they do that and why was that significant?

DOSA: That’s a great question. They were so dedicated to exploring all kinds of volcanoes. And so, of course, we’re very aware and intrigued by gray volcanoes, otherwise known as explosive volcanoes. But they were particularly animated by the pursuit of the unknown. They had an opportunity in 1980, when Mount Saint Helens erupted, to delve deeply into researching a gray volcano like Mount Saint Helens. Of course, there’s a tragedy, nearly 60 people were killed. The entire area was destroyed. Yet it was a watershed moment in the field of volcanology to study this kind of once in human lifetime type of eruption. It absolutely ignited Katia and Maurice’s curiosity. And they felt like there was an opportunity to, you know, this type of volcano that wasn’t as well understood because they’re so rare, because they’re so powerful, and because they’re so dangerous. And for Katia, who was particularly driven by, kind of, this pursuit of scientific understanding. For her, she wanted to have this opportunity to really learn. And Maurice too, he, of course, is so in love with that idea as well, but the danger got him all the more excited. And so, for them, they decided to kind of compromise and dedicated their lives towards studying gray volcanoes. And I say compromise because at that moment in their relationship and in their lives, Maurice is very much wanting to develop a kind of vessel that would allow him to ride down a lave flow — a red lava flow. He was so excited about this and would often tease Katia with this. It’s kind of like, they wanted to — or he wanted to get so close that he literally wanted to be in the lava flow. But through their conversations, based on our research, they kind of compromised and the said — instead said, OK. Studying explosive volcanoes, that kind of will get them as close to the danger as Maurice wants and provides this opportunity for understanding like Katia wants. And so, they really shifted their focus towards that kind of study and that carried them through the rest of their lives.

SREENIVASAN: How did the scientific community react to them?

DOSA: Yes, the scientific community definitely has diverse opinions about Katia and Maurice. By in large, what we found with the science advisers that we were working with on our film and since the film has been released, is that Katia and Maurice we’re very much celebrated as pioneers. They were so dedicated towards collecting this imagery. And so, driven by their love that their work went on to inspire generations of people to go into geosciences as well. And for Katia, in particular, she battled such sexism doing the work that she did as one of the only women in volcanology at that time. And one of the most rewarding things that’s happening for our team now is we get all kinds of letters from people saying, I knew about Katia when I was little. And I learned about her and she was the reason why I am a geoscientist now, or some people today are saying, thank you for Katia, my little girl saw her and dressed up as — for, you know, as Katia for Halloween. And now — you know, it’s engendering this love of science. So, the way that she, in particular, was a role model was extremely meaningful. But, of course, you know, they did defy safety regulations to go about the work that they did and that created some controversy for people for sure. But their life’s work really begs that question. How far would you go for your work? How far would you — what would you sacrifice for your passion, especially in the name of science? And that’s something that a lot of scientists today very much wrestle with in order to do the kind of daring and world changing work that they do.

SREENIVASAN: You know, one thing I wonder is, you know, perhaps this is a testament to your filmmaking. But by the time we get to the point in the film where we discuss the end of their lives, as a viewer, you’re sad. You felt connected to them over the period of the film. And I wonder, given all the research you did, what did you learn about what happened to them?

DOSA: Yes, on their last trip, Katia and Maurice we’re very focused on capturing a very particular shot of a pyroclastic flow, which is one of the most dangerous forces on the planet. They wanted to do so, so that they could illustrate how pyroclastic flows moved so they could put it in a video about understanding volcanic hazards that they were using to teach governments and decision-makers how to comprehend this very mysterious and very dangerous force. It was really their goal that in Maurice’s quixotic terms that volcanoes no longer kill, which of course, is not actually possible. But they witnessed such devastation, namely at the eruption of Nevado del Ruiz in Colombia, 1985, where over 22,000 people died because they were not evacuated in time. There weren’t proper warning systems put in place. That they really wanted to use their imagery to, instead, teach people on how these dangerous forces worked to save lives. So, that’s really what they were doing that day in June in 1991 at the base Mount Unzen, they were trying to capture a particular shot. And it’s tragic yet there’s something deeply poignant and poetic about the fact that they were trying to save lives when they themselves lost their own life — lives. They did so along with 41 other people, including their friend and fellow volcanologist Harry Glicken. So, it’s quite tragic. And there’s people that are mourning them today. But their work really has gone on to save lives and to teach people how to understand this very mysterious force.

SREENIVASAN: So, on a brighter note, what is it like to be an Oscar nominee?

DOSA: It’s a profound honor and I — I’m deeply humbled. I’m still surprised by our Oscar nomination. My team and I, we tend to make video idiosyncratic films about idiosyncratic people and we never, in a million years, imagined that this would happen. But it’s one of those moments where I just, kind of, look back and feel just an overwhelming sense of gratitude for all of my mentors, for my collaborators, for Katia and Maurice for sharing their story with us even, you know, from their volcano in the sky. Yes, I think gratitude is really the thing that brought us forth most. I also — I’m humbled to be in the company of the other films nominated. I absolutely love them all and I have developed friendships with different filmmakers along this journey. And so, it is very meaningful to be in this altogether. And yes, I just — I love the fact that more people are going to know the story of Katia and Maurice Krafft now. You know, their story hasn’t come to life that much in the past 30 years since their deaths. So, the fact people get to know this wonderfully, charismatic couple who can relay what it means to fall in love with the Earth, that is particularly gratifying for me. And the fact that their work is getting this kind of recognition today is very meaningful.

SREENIVASAN: The film is called “Fire of Love”. Director Sara Dosa, thanks so much for joining us.

DOSA: Thank you so much for having me.