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| Director/Producer Megan Smith-Harris, on location Cincinnati, OH |
Canadian-born filmmaker Megan Smith-Harris is making a run
for the Academy Awards with her first independent feature Trial By Fire: Lives Re-Forged. Born in Toronto, Smith-Harris got
her start while touring with The Second City, and then went on to produce
numerous documentary profiles of Canadians for the CBC and Brave, as well as
the documentary Surrogate Stories,
which aired on the Women’s Television Network this year. She also honed her
skills in Producers Residency Program at the Canadian Film Centre and participated in
the inaugural year of Women in The
Director’s Chair in Banff. Now based in Connecticut as owner of Pyewackitt Productions, the Oscar race
helps to make a dream come true for Smith Harris because it means that the
reach of her inspirational film could be bigger than ever. The film screened at
the International Documentary Association's DocuWeeks programme in
August to qualify for the Best Documentary Feature category at the Oscars, and
Smith-Harris is screening the film so that it can compete amongst over 100 other
docs, some of which already have high profiles and studio support.
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| J.R. Martinez Interviewed on location in Galveston, TX |
The discomfort of body image is one of the reasons Trial By Fire suggests that people are
often uneasy with confronting experiences like the one J.R. had. However,
Smith-Harris drew inspiration for Trial
by Fire from the unlikeliest of sources: a magazine. The director describes
how she was flipping through a magazine one day and was touched by a photo of
three survivors. Wanting to know more about these individuals, Smith-Harris was
stirred to learn the context of these burns – how did the people receive them
and what was it like in the aftermath. “When you forge metal with fire it
becomes stronger and in making this film,” says Smith-Harris, “I learned that
the same is true of the human spirit. One of the most surprising revelations we
had during production was that the majority of burn survivors interviewed for
this documentary told us they would not change what happened to them even if
they could. While none of them would ever want to revisit the pain and
suffering they endured, the experience of being burned has transformed their lives
in ways they could not possibly have fathomed.”
The transformative journey of these survivors has inspired
people as Trial By Fire has made its
own journey across the screens of North America. The film has screened at
several venues close to the heart of the film’s campaign, such as the Firefighters Burn Institute in Sacramento,
California and the Canadian
Burn Survivors in Calgary, Alberta. Likewise, the film has screened on the
film circuit, including a stop with noted film critic Leonard Maltin and his
cinema studies class at USC, which met the film with a standing ovation. The
film has also enjoyed critical
acclaim while making the rounds.
Trial by Fire is
returning to USC and more venues in hope of spreading the word for both the
film and its cause. Smith-Harris will be joined by star/subject J.R. Martinez
for a Q&A at the film’s USC screening on Sunday, November 18, and the film
will also be shown in New York on Monday, November 19 with Executive-Producer
Bill Harris in attendance. With high hopes, these screenings will bring more
success to Trial by Fire and its
journey.
Trial By Fire: Lives
Re-Forged screens:
Sunday, November 18 (J.R. Martinez and filmmaker Megan
Smith-Harris to do Q&A)
3:00 p.m.
USC School of Cinematic Arts
Ray Stark Family Theatre, SCA 108
900 W. 34th Street
Los Angeles, CA
Monday, November 19 (Executive Producer Bill Harris to do
Q&A)
8:00 p.m.
MAGNO Screening Room
729 7th Avenue (between 48th-49th)
New York, NY
For more information
on Trial By Fire: Lives Re-Forged,
please visit www.TrialByFireDoc.org
