PARADISE — Many pieces of artwork have been inspired by the Camp Fire. Paintings, sculptures, poetry and more tell the story of Nov. 8, 2018.
Paradisian Allen Myers, though, chose to do a bit of time traveling in his work inspired by the historic blaze. He directed a stop-motion animation, “A Message From The Future of Paradise.” A series of 12 original paintings by Napa artist David Huddleston paint the picture.
“It’s not hard for me to go back to Nov. 8, 2018, even though it’s 50 years ago now. I remember like it was yesterday. On that day, everything changed,” the narration begins.
Flames appear atop textured greenery in the first painting. Each painting from then on tells a different piece of the story. Volunteers provide disaster relief, homes are rebuilt, businesses reopen. Further into the future, though, a greater relationship with the town and nature is established.
“Working closely with Maidu tribe leaders, we created a network of wildlife trails that serve not only as a food forest, but also a fire beak,” the narration continues.
The paintings are greener as the film goes on. The community is closer. PG&E is bankrupt. Paradise establishes its own microgrid, making it self-sufficient.
“When I look back to Nov. 8, 2018, I still feel our immense loss, but I also know it was the start of something incredible,” the narration ends.
Myers was living in LA at the time the fire broke out. He was scheduled to take a trip home to see his parents one day after the fire.
What was meant to be a two-day trip turned into a year and a half stay. Since then, he has organized fundraisers and founded Regenerating Paradise, “a group committed to seeing possibility in the wake of disaster and holding a vision that reflects the values of our community,” a press release said.
He wrote the short film in October 2019. He stitched 70,000 individual photos together. To bring the stop motion animation to life, he sought the assistance of fellow locals.
Woody Culleton, a long-time Paradise resident and former Paradise mayor, worked as the narrator. His grandfatherly voice soothingly tells the story, a story he himself is living.
The music was composed by Leeya Shaw, a professional pianist and composer born and raised in Paradise.
Myers hoped to have his first draft finished by the one-year anniversary of the fire. He did, and presented it during the “Joy Will Find A Way” show, a celebration of arts on the ridge.
At first, the film featured a random, generic background song that merely got the job done. During the show, though, Myers heard Shaw play the piano. Her original songs were filled with raw emotion. One in particular, “First Rain of November,” caught his attention.
“It was so moving.” Myers said. “She is processing her own grief through art.”
He approached her to see if she would be interested in composing the soundtrack for the short film.
“It seemed natural that we should work together,” Shaw said. “It was a no brainer. I normally don’t like to do commission work, but this was exactly the commission work I reserve myself for, because it’s for a project that I am really deeply about.”
She took the melody of the song that captivated Myers to create the scoring for the short film.
“It was really a project out of love,” she said. “Each note is a teardrop.”
The past six months, Myers has been polishing up the film.
He wanted the audience to be “inspired by a vision that is essentially their own.”
Community members met with Urban Design Associates to path the rebuilding process. During that meeting, the top two values named were community and nature.
“Really, this film is a visual, artistic representation for those values and the future people on the ridge are calling for,” Myers said. “There’s room for all of us in this story,” he said.
