An Ember of the Past

2026 · An Ember of the Past · Documentary · 35 min · In festivals Texas experimental archaeologist Neal Stilley rebuilds ancient technology by hand to understand how people once lived. In a life marked by loss, the friction fire and atlatl throwing he teaches have become the way he carries on. Each fire he lights is a small act of continuity: knowledge passed hand to hand for thousands of years, and now from Neal to whoever comes next.

Neal Stilley starting a friction fire in An Ember of the Past, a documentary by Lone Bolt Pictures.

An Ember of the Past

Neal Stilley starting a friction fire in An Ember of the Past, a documentary by Lone Bolt Pictures.

A drone view of the Pecos River in An Ember of the Past, a documentary by Lone Bolt Pictures.

Neal Stilley throwing an atlatl in An Ember of the Past, a documentary by Lone Bolt Pictures.

Neal Stilley and Jack Johnson throwing atlatls in An Ember of the Past, a documentary by Lone Bolt Pictures.

Neal Stilley starting a friction fire in An Ember of the Past, a documentary by Lone Bolt Pictures.

Neal Stilley starting a friction fire in An Ember of the Past, a documentary by Lone Bolt Pictures.

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