Official Trailer for ‘Fireboys’ Documentary About Inmate Firefighters
by Alex Billington
July 6, 2021
Source: YouTube
“It didn’t feel like lockdown, it didn’t feel like jail… It felt like something else.” 1091 Pictures has revealed an official trailer for an intense and enlightening new documentary titled Fireboys, from up-and-coming doc filmmakers Jake Hochendoner and Drew Dickler. Fireboys is the untold story of young men incarcerated in California who are offered a way out: by fighting wildfires. Both immersive and personal, this coming-of-age story examines a correctional path that is both hopeful and destructive. It’s a story about some of the men who work as firefighters as part of the California prison system volunteer program, joining with professional firefighters to fight the many raging fires that breakout in California every single year. The doc “Fireboys attempts to offer an accurate view into two people’s experiences, both positive and negative, as they navigate the challenges of coming of age inside the American criminal justice system.” This looks like a riveting and impressive film about this prison program, capturing the intense experience on camera. This is worth a look.
Here’s the official trailer (+ poster) for Jake Hochendoner & Drew Dickler’s doc Fireboys, on YouTube:
Every summer, California burns. As these seasonal blazes rage across the state, over 3,000 professional firefighters & 3,000 volunteer inmates battle the fires for many months on end, sometimes into the winter. Pine Grove firefighters have fought in all of the deadliest and largest fires in California’s recent history, including the dangerous Camp and Mendocino Complex fires of 2018. Without incarcerated firefighters, California would not be able to manage the growing intensity of fire season. The employment of inmate firefighters — and the opportunities and challenges that await them upon their release from prison– are at the heart of Fireboys. Fireboys is co-directed by two up-and-coming documentary filmmakers – Jake Hochendoner & Drew Dickler, both making their feature directorial debut after working on short docs inclduing Dress and 100 Second Chances. This hasn’t premiered at any film festivals or elsewhere, as far as we know. 1091 Pictures will debut Fireboys direct-to-VOD starting on August 3rd, 2021. Who’s intrigued?
