Out of the Ashes

On January 7, 2025, wildfires fueled by 100 mph winds tore through Los Angeles, scorching 40,000 acres, destroying 16,000 homes, and displacing more than 100,000 people. But statistics cannot measure the loss of a hand-painted red front door, an antique violin or a child’s bedroom. Out of the Ashes uses cutting-edge spatial technology to document the devastation and the human stories within it.
The seven vignettes in Out of the Ashes are synecdoches for so many others, describing the memories of the lives lived in those homes, births celebrated, grief and family members mourned. The destruction captured in this documentary begs the audience to ask, “What place was this? What people lived here?” and “What will come from OUT OF THE ASHES?”