A documentary about the aftermath of this year’s devastating L.A. wildfires — executive produced by Mark Hamill and Ricki Lake — has launched as the film hit Vimeo on Wednesday.
Directed by David Goldblum, a local to Big Rock who lost his home in the fire, “Big Rock Burning” is a 30-minute film that tells the stories of residents impacted by the Pacific Palisades blazes and captures their process of rebuilding destroyed neighborhoods.
Following the reported arrest of suspected arsonist Jonathan Rinderknecht, who authorities have accused of intentionally setting the spark, the filmmakers chose to bypass traditional distribution to release the film directly to audiences.
“Although we were in ongoing conversations with various distributors, the timeline wasn’t aligning with our hopes to make the film available as soon as possible,” Goldblum said in a statement. “We never made the film to sit on it. People need closure, and we hope this release helps communities begin to heal. We are using this film to call for change.”
“Big Rock Burning” has premiered at Malibu City Hall. Its festival run includes screenings at Mill Valley Film Festival, Santa Fe International Film Festival, Newport Beach Film Festival and SCAD Savannah Film Festival.
As part of the film’s ongoing impact campaign, Goldblum will be a part of a special session with the Council of Global Change at the United Nations Headquarters on Oct. 22 to use the film as a call to action.
The session, which includes the World Bank and Malala Fund, will be live on United Nations Web TV.
The filmmakers are dedicated to advocating for legislative reform around land management at the local and state levels.
Ten percent of all proceeds from the film release will benefit the Boys & Girls Club of Malibu’s Disaster Recovery Services, which is providing long-term, whole-person, trauma-informed care coordination and resources to Pacific Palisades fire survivors.
“Big Rock Burning” is produced by Julie Parker Benello (“American Factory,” “Athlete A”) of Secret Sauce Media and James Costa (“The Dating Game,” “Welcome to Chechnya”) of Bird Street Productions, alongside Goldblum.
Oscar-winning director Bryan Fogel also serve as executive producers alongside Marilou Hamill, Trevor Burgess, Judith Helfand, Oliver Blank and Meadow Fund.
Check out the “Big Rock Burn” trailer below:
