THRU THE FIRE

A powerful musical and visual testimony of survival, resilience, and rebirth in Altadena.

In the wake of the devastating LA fires, Thru The Fire brings together a diverse, intergenerational coalition of Altadena-based artists to create a redemptive artistic response. Inspired by the visionary legacy of Octavia Butler and Altadena’s rich cultural history, this project channels the raw emotion of loss into a transformative performance-driven experience—an urgent and uplifting narrative of collective power, climate resilience, and creative healing.

This is more than a film or an album. Thru The Fire is a living archive—told through music, poetry, and image—of a community rebuilding itself through radical collaboration.

Support Thru the Fire here.

THE DOCUMENTARY

THE TEASER

    • A groundbreaking cross-genre album featuring Indigenous Tongva voices, Afro-diasporic rhythms, Latin traditions, jazz elders, hip-hop artists, and spoken word poets—all rooted in Altadena.

    • A three-part documentary series capturing the recording sessions and creative process, weaving together the area's racial and cultural history, its artistic soul, and its response to environmental catastrophe.

    • A live multimedia performance combining music, dance, drama, and literature to offer a visceral, emotionally charged story of endurance and transformation.

  • We are at a defining moment for Altadena. This project:

    • Preserves and amplifies cultural legacies—featuring voices too often excluded from mainstream narratives.

    • Strengthens community by employing and centering local artists—many of whom lost homes and studios in the Eaton Fire.

    • Models resilience through art, not as escapism, but as action—using fire not just as a destructive force, but a symbol of renewal.

    • Pushes storytelling forward with a unique blend of music, documentary, and immersive performance that speaks directly to our time.Description text goes here

  • Led by musician/composer Paul Livingstone, Grammy-winning producer KC Porter, and veteran engineer Rich Mouser, Thru The Fire features an ensemble of Altadena’s finest: from the Earthseed Band to Rhythms of the Village, and special guests like Dwight Trible and Wil-Dog Abers (Ozomatli).

    Filmmaker Joel Juarez (Director’s Guild and international award winner) helms the documentary, capturing the deeply personal and political dimensions of the project with a textured, experimental lens.

How You Can Help

We’re calling on foundations, donors, and supporters of the arts to help bring this project to life. Your contribution directly funds:

  • Artist compensation

  • Studio production and recording

  • Cinematography and post-production

  • Community outreach performances

  • Long-term infrastructure—like studio spaces for displaced local artists

Contribute to a movement that doesn’t just remember, but rebuilds.

Thru The Fire is a chance to show what’s possible when artists lead the way—together, we can tell Altadena’s story as a blueprint for collective renewal in the face of climate crisis.