Ventura teens create documentary to help Thomas Fire victims cope with loss

Two Ventura teens are creating a documentary to help those who were affected by the Thomas Fire, and they know what it’s like to grieve.

Siblings, 17-year-old Sierra Shannon and 14-year-old Canyon Castaldi were inspired to create a film after they lost their family home in the fire.

“We were like, maybe this can be a way to help us and the community move through this,” said Shannon.

The 52-minute documentary called, “From the Ashes Up”, features 15 Thomas Fire survivors and their journey to cope with the heartbreak that comes with loss.

“The goal is to help inspire them in tragedy to say, ‘I can do this, I can pull myself together. It’s okay to feel sad. I need to work through this while also feeling grief,'” said Shannon.

What started as an idea a few months after the fire, turned into a community-wide effort.

Shannon says more than 50 people reached out to offer support in some way.

“We got the director of CAPS Media who messaged me saying, ‘Hey, I have equipment,’ we had people saying ‘I’m a sound editor, I’m a photographer, I’ve got footage for you,’ and then we started pulling this together,” said Shannon.

The siblings also wanted to create an outlet to help survivors connect.

“It’s cool to have that deeper connection, like, ‘You guys went through the same experience and know what each other has been through,'” said Castaldi.

“It helps me come to terms with what happened and that it happened for a reason,” said Shannon. “It was probably to make this documentary.”

Shannon and Castaldi submitted the film to the Ojai Film Festival and they plan to submit it to the Santa Barbara International Film Festival, as well.