Servers

The Fire in Our Hearts

93 min Documentary

On British Columbia’s remote Southside, wildfire is not an abstract threat—it is a lived reality. As flames close in on a frontier community, the Cheslatta Carrier Nation and their neighbours face an impossible choice: evacuate, or stay to protect the land that defines them. With limited access and little outside support, the community responds collectively, drawing on Indigenous leadership, cooperation, and generations of knowledge to confront the fire in near isolation. In the aftermath, the burn reveals a long-erased Cheslatta village site, resurfacing a suppressed history just as their response gains wider attention as a model for resilience. But when the flames recede, new constraints emerge—raising questions about the limits of community-led action, and the fragile balance between survival, autonomy, and authority.

Director: Josias Tschanz Writer: Josias Tschanz

Cast

Stewart Alcock Stewart Alcock himself
Cole Bender Cole Bender himself
Brad Blackwel Brad Blackwel himself
Gary Blackwell Gary Blackwell himself
Joanne Brown Joanne Brown herself
Hazel Burt Hazel Burt herself
John Casimet John Casimet himself
Ryan Chapman Ryan Chapman himself
Walt Cravey Walt Cravey himself
David Eby David Eby himself
Monika Eriksen Monika Eriksen herself
Jessica Gessel Jessica Gessel herself