The Fire in Our Hearts
A community’s fight for land, truth, and autonomy.
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.
Directed by Josias Tschanz · Written by Josias Tschanz
Cast
- Stewart Alcock himself
- Cole Bender himself
- Brad Blackwel himself
- Gary Blackwell himself
- Joanne Brown herself
- Hazel Burt herself
- John Casimet himself
- Ryan Chapman himself
- Walt Cravey himself
- David Eby himself
- Monika Eriksen herself
- Jessica Gessel herself
Make it a double feature
2h 56m together
The Fire in Our Hearts
David Attenborough: A Life on Our Planet
A close match in mood and era.
