We have more screenings coming up and more long, exciting nights working at my desktop! We're still forging our unique distribution path for the film, which feels like navigating uncharted territory. It reminds me of when Henrik blazed his own trail in Phoenixville - in fact, the debut of that path was the very first time our crew and the Firebird committee met!

After a long quarantine, the team decided to transform one of their bi-weekly meetings into a little hike in Phoenixville. My memory's a little fuzzy, but there had been several massive storms passing through the area. Our crew went back and forth on whether we should/could attend seeing that cameras and rain don't mix. We studied the radar and saw that the storm was going to magically avoid the very area we were to hike for one whole hour. And the hike was estimated to take about 30 minutes. It felt like everything was aligning perfectly for us, so we set off to join the Firebird hike.

Apart from the humidity, it was a pleasant day. Henrik's self-carved path was lush with new spring growth. Being surrounded by nature, it was the perfect introduction to the Firebird community. We even saw a baby deer resting in the shrubs! Because the camaraderie was so strong, and the sights so distracting, what was supposed to be a 30-minute hike stretched to an hour, and eventually, more than an hour. Remember, the radar said we had one safe hour…

It began, but gently. Charlie and I were on edge at every raindrop that fell from the trees above us. Several raindrops turned into a drizzle but before long the skies opened up and poured rain. We hastily covered our cameras with rain gear – I even sacrificed my raincoat to protect one of them! The rain got heavier, and we were no longer hiking; we were sprinting to find shelter. We thought that was it for our cameras! We ruined them on the first shoot day. It was hectic. And the Firebird committee? Oh, they were having a great time playing in the rain! Eventually the trail ended, and we came out into the road right by a train bridge. We ran under and waited for a ride to Henrik’s house. By the time we reached his house, I was drenched as if I'd jumped into a pool fully clothed. Fortunately, our rain gear shielded the cameras well enough, and we were able to enjoy the potluck that followed. The evening concluded with delicious food, music, and laughter. The scene in the film speaks for itself!

2nd Unit Cinematographer, Angel Fajardo writes, "It was my first day on the shoot where we went hiking with the Firebird gang. I met Henrik and his bare feet, Derek's larger-than-life personality, and Vincent with his plant-identifying app, which blew me away (I bought it later that week). After we hiked and escaped the rain, we dried ourselves (after drying the cameras first, of course), then ate and jammed with everyone. I really didn't expect to feel at peace that day."