FIRELINE tells the story of an inmate firefighter desperately trying to call home while battling a wildfire with his crew.
Today, 30% of CalFire Fire Dept. is supplemented by prison labor despite no clear pathway to employment upon release. FIRELINE is a tribute to the unsung heroes on the frontlines in the battle against climate change.
The film stars Bobby Soto (The Tax Collector, Flamin’ Hot) and is produced by Lena Waithe’s Hillman Grad and Indeed’s Rising Voices Program.
Robin Takao D’Oench is a Japanese American writer – director – producer from NYC. He is motivated to tell compelling, cinematic, and culturally diverse stories. TADAIMA, inspired by his family’s experiences during the Japanese American Internment, received a certificate of commendation from the city of San Francisco and won top awards at the Philadelphia Asian American FF, DisOrient Asian American FF, the Social Justice FF and the Forum of Law, Culture and Society. The film screened at over a hundred festivals and events, was acquired by Comcast-Xfinity, Seed & Spark, Full Spectrum Pictures and is included in the Densho: Japanese American Legacy Resource Guide. HERE COMES FRIEDA, a dystopian sci-fi set in the backdrop of a climate disaster, screened with Slamdance, Hollyshorts, Boston Sci-Fi, Phillip K. Dick FF and was acquired by Gunpowder & Sky and WatchDUST. HARD, a queer coming of age story, premiered at the Martha’s Vineyard African American FF and received an Audience Choice award from NYC Shorts and a First Prize Alternative Spirit LGBTQ Award from FLICKERS Rhode Island International FF. TRESPASSERS, a monster horror short produced by 20th Digital Studio premiered with “Bite Size Halloween” and is currently streaming on Hulu. Most recently, Robin’s latest film, FIRELINE centering on Incarcerated Firefighters was produced by Lena Waithe’s Hillman Grad and Indeed’s Rising Voices Program. Robin is a Film Independent Project Involve Directing Fellow and a graduate of New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts. He is repped by 3 Arts Entertainment and Verve Talent & Lit Agency.
My grandparents’ incarceration in Japanese American Internment camps during World War II remains to be at the foundation of my creative core. My grandfather, “volunteered” for military service in the 442nd Regiment, an all-Japanese-American unit that would become the most decorated regiment in the history of the US military. Inspired by my family’s history perseverance and pride in the face of institutional oppression in my work are themes I look to explore in my work.
FIRELINE was written and developed with Lena Waithe’s Hillman Grad and Indeed’s Rising Voices Season four. Prompted with a theme that explored “A vision of the future of work,” I drew from the past and pulled inspiration from Chinese American Railroad workers, Irish indentured servants, and an entire American labor system that originated from American slavery – and looked to frame this exploitation in a modern setting.
Today 30% of CalFire is supplemented by inmate labor despite no clear pathway for employment within the fire department upon release from jail.
FIRELINE is an examination of the prison industrial complex, labor exploitation, aggressive climate change but framed against a human story of a father trying to reach out to his daughter. A meditation on fatherhood, I wrote this film at the same time as I became a new parent to baby girl earlier this year.
A film about second chances redemption and perseverance against the odds. FIRELINE depicts an exploited labor force on the front lines of the climate change battle. A tribute to the least expected heroes. The film looks to recognize the sacrifices incarcerated firefighters make to shorten their sentences to return to their loved ones with the hopes of rejoining their communities.
Robin Takao D'Oench (Tadaima, Hard, Here Comes Frieda, Trespassers [Bite Size Halloween])
Robin Takao D'Oench
Fiona Hardingham, (All I Ever Wanted, The Mason Ring, Our Sister) - Dany Sanchez Lugo, (Soft Sounds of Peeling Fruit)
Bobby Soto, "Otto Reyes" (The Tax Collector, Flamin' Hot, Narcos) - Joshua Caleb Johnson, "Shawn Davies" (The Good Lord Bird) - Fabian Alomar, "Primo" (Mayans, This Fool, Flamin' Hot) - Ming Jue Hu, Cinematographer (Quest for Craft, My Nights Glow Yellow, Ba) - Yufei Skylar Zhang Skylar Zhang, Editor (My Nights Glow Yellow, Broken Drawer, The Words of Cayetano) - Kunda Yu, Composer (Hard, Sister) - Kimberly Matela, Production Designer (Listen, The Garden Left Behind, Trespassers) - Celeste Leizer, VFX Supervisor (Here Comes Frieda, Sin Fondo) - Simon White, SFX Supervisor (Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, American Horror Stories, Loot) Matthew Maisto, Casting Director (Insecure, Hard, 80 for Brady)
2024
U.S. A.
00:13:24
