The driving idea behind "Ordinary Heroes in Harm's Way" was to humanize the overwhelming threat of climate change by focusing on a story of grassroots community action. In August 2022, as a massive wildfire struck Jinyun Mountain in Chongqing, we chose to look beyond the primary front lines of professional firefighters. Our focus shifted to the "second scene": the ordinary residents, who had lived at the mountain's base for generations, spontaneously organized to protect their homes. Armed with simple fire extinguishers, they patrolled the scorched earth, hunting for residual sparks to prevent the fire from reigniting.
Our primary goal was to make the abstract threat of climate disaster tangible and personal. We aimed to:
By documenting these unsung heroes, we wanted to show that in the face of catastrophe, courage and community spirit can forge a path toward a better future.
Our plan of action was to embed our documentary team directly within the affected community at the foot of Jinyun Mountain during the August 2022 wildfires. The execution began by deliberately moving away from the main spectacle of the firefighting operation, which was already receiving media attention. Instead, we connected with local rescue groups, specifically the "Beibei Xiema street mountain fire rescue group," to find the story that was not being told.
We followed the local patrol teams, comprised of ordinary residents, as they ventured into the hazardous, smoldering landscape. Our crew documented their methodical work: tracing the patterns of the burn, searching for hidden embers, and extinguishing any potential flare-ups with handheld extinguishers. This intimate, ground-level perspective is the key feature of our film.
The uniqueness of "Ordinary Heroes in Harm's Way" lies in its focus on this "second scene." While other reports highlighted the heroic efforts of firefighters and the dramatic "motorcycle army" delivering supplies, our work tells the quieter, yet profoundly powerful, story of a community safeguarding its own home. We transformed an abstract environmental issue into a relatable human experience, showing that the heroes in a climate crisis are also our neighbors. This approach makes the threat of climate change immediate and personal, rather than a distant problem.
One of the main challenges was earning the trust of a community in deep distress. We overcame this by approaching our subjects with empathy and a genuine desire to document their resilience, rather than exploiting their situation. Filming in a recently burned, unstable environment also posed significant safety risks. We mitigated this by working closely with the local patrols, who were familiar with the terrain and the dangers, ensuring our crew’s safety while capturing authentic footage. The result is a unique and poignant testimony to the power of grassroots action in the face of environmental disaster.
Our efforts are a success because the results directly align with our core objectives of raising awareness and inspiring action. The documentary reached over 150,000 viewers through film festivals and targeted local screenings, successfully meeting our goal of bringing the tangible impacts of climate-fueled wildfires to a broad audience.
This viewership did more than just inform; it sparked vital conversations about climate preparedness and the importance of local environmental stewardship. By focusing on the relatable actions of ordinary citizens, the film effectively translates a large-scale disaster into a personal call to responsibility,ective of shifting meeting our obj the climate discourse from statistics to human experience.
We consider the project a success not just because of its viewership numbers but also because of its impact on the community narrative. It validated and honored the contributions of the local residents, ensuring their courageous efforts were not overlooked. The film stands as a powerful demonstration of how documentary storytelling can transform awareness into a catalyst for community engagement and action, proving that stories of local heroes can have a global resonance.
The documentary won the award at Vienna Film Festival and Muse Award for documentary.
