Fireboys

Fireboys is the untold story of young men incarcerated in California who are offered a way out: by fighting wildfires. This coming-of-age story is told from the perspectives of young men as they summon the courage to fight fires and confront their pasts. Alex Bailon, 18, and Chuy Hernandez, 20, have both enrolled as volunteer firefighters for the California Department of Corrections and Cal Fire's conservation "fire" camp program. Following these young men from prison, fighting wildfires in the forests of California, and finally, back to their homes on the outside, Fireboys examines a correctional path that is both hopeful and destructive. California's fire camps promote rehabilitation but also exploit labor to address one of the state’s most urgent environmental problems.