Genre
Synopsis
After the deadliest wildfire in California history, one man’s fight to save his home sparks an unexpected communal experiment. STRAY EMBERS is an intimate, vérité portrait of resilience, community, and climate crisis in rural Northern California. After the 2018 Camp Fire decimated Paradise, Brad Weldon—a fifth-generation resident—saves his home and opens his doors to over 20 displaced friends, neighbors, and their many dogs, forming a sprawling, improvised household. Filmed over five years, the documentary captures the evolving dynamics of this multi-generational community as they navigate grief, caregiving, addiction, and mental health amid the ongoing threat of wildfire. While some rebuild, others—like Brad’s friend Lenny—seek meaning in the scorched wilderness, scavenging gold and crafting shelter from ruins. Through quiet observation and lyrical imagery of the Sierra Foothills, STRAY EMBERS explores the fragile beauty of communal resilience, asking what it means to remain rooted in a place that may burn again.
Bio
Erin Brethauer is an Emmy-Award winning filmmaker and photographer based in San Francisco, CA and Asheville, NC. Her first feature film, Last Men Standing, was co-directed with Tim Hussin, while on staff at the San Francisco Chronicle. The documentary, a first for the newspaper, explores the physical and psychological effects of being a long-term HIV survivor and was screened at major LGBTQ+ film festivals worldwide. The film, along with a weekly video series she co-directed called The Regulars, were awarded regional Emmy Awards. Before moving to the Bay Area, Brethauer was a staff photojournalist in small town newspapers such as the Asheville Citizen-Times in North Carolina for nearly a decade. Both her film and still photography work are recognized by Pictures of the Year International, Magenta Flash Forward, American Photography and can be found in publications such as California Sunday Magazine, National Geographic, The New Yorker and The New York Times.
Her current work explores the personal effects of climate change and life after incarceration. Brethauer is a 2020 SFFILM FilmHouse Resident and is working with Hussin on a feature documentary about a group of residents in Paradise, California following the Camp Fire.
To see her film work, visit www.thislandfilms.com and for her still photography, visit www.erinbrethauer.com.
Credits
Co-Director - Tim Hussin
Cinematographer - Tim Hussin
Editor - Daniel J. Freeman
Composer - Daniel J. Freeman
Cinematographer - Erin Brethauer