The Fire in Our Hearts (Filmmakers in Attendance for Q&A)
A community’s fight for land, truth, and autonomy.
The Fire in Our Hearts (Filmmakers in Attendance for Q&A)
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.
Sunday, November 29
Doors 11:30 am | Event 12:30 pm
Tickets HERE
Guest speakers in attendance, including:
- Dr. Lori Daniels – Professor of Forest Ecology at the University of British Columbia and a leading researcher on wildfire resilience, forest management, and how communities can better coexist with wildfire.
- Chief Corrina Leween – Chief of the Cheslatta Carrier Nation and a central voice in the documentary. She has been a strong advocate for Indigenous-led wildfire management and recently presented the film at the Assembly of First Nations’ National Climate Gathering.
- Rise Johansen – Representative of Chinook Emergency Response Society (CERS), a grassroots wildfire response initiative working to protect remote communities and strengthen local wildfire preparedness.
- Josias Tschanz – Director and producer of The Fire in Our Hearts, an award-winning documentary exploring the 2018 wildfires in British Columbia, Indigenous leadership, and the need for more collaborative wildfire management strategies.
THE FIRE IN OUR HEARTS (Josias Tschanz, 2026 / 86 mins / PG) Residents of the Southside must choose: evacuate or stay to defend their land. Isolated and with limited access, they unite to face the raging wildfire.
