Women In Fire is a documentary directed and produced by Deborah Attoinese.
The film begins thick in the action of a fire in the canyons of Colorado and juxtaposes between the destruction and present as documentary subject Abby Bolt attempts to grapple with the potential consequence's of reporting being sexually assaulted by a colleague in the U. S Forest Service.
Abby is a charismatic and engaging person director Deborah is aware of this and doesn't get too involved and wisely stays off camera allowing her protagonist to tell her story in her own words. She is a loyal friend- the cool calm collected one you rely on in an emergency.
I couldn't help but get the sense Abby is most at ease surrounded by chaos and dangerous situations like the ones she regularly encounters with fire. Having worked a long career alongside first responders myself i definitely related to that element.
Bolts life is an open book charting her rise from humble beginnings in rural Colorado to becoming the battalion commander of a team of elite firefighters and the U. S Forest Services subsequent failure on every level to support her when the unthinkable happens. She faces bureaucracy and incompetence at every turn detailed in a series of letters from her superiors read out loud.
When Bolts case begins to gain attention on a national level they begin to uncover a very disturbing pattern in the Forest Service in regards to how women are treated.
The documentary isnt completely free of optimism as it demonstrates positive changes in the culture as a result of Abbys courage with the number of female fire fighters rapidly increasing.
Women In Fire is an inspiring film about confronting injustice reinvention and above all survival.
