Stray Embers

FEATURE DOCUMENTARY

STRAY EMBERS is an intimate, vérité portrait of resilience, community, and climate crisis in rural Northern California. In the wake of the 2018 Camp Fire- the deadliest wildfire in California history- Brad Weldon, a fifth-generation resident of Paradise, saves his home with little more than luck, some garden hoses and sheer determination. What begins as a personal act of survival soon transforms into a makeshift communal experiment when Brad opens his doors to over 20 displaced neighbors, friends, and their many dogs, creating a sprawling, improvised household. The film follows this multi-generational household over five tumultuous years.
2026 | 94 min.

Beekeeping is a lifesaving form of therapy for Eric Grandon, a U.S. Army veteran who suffers from PTSD after 20 years in combat. For the past several years, Eric has invited other trauma survivors to his farm so they could experience the healing powers of beekeeping. 
8 min / West Virginia, 2020

The Regulars 
for the San Francisco Chronicle

VIDEO SERIES

The Regulars is a video series we started at the San Francisco Chronicle. It profiles everyday people caught in the cacophany of modern urban life.

Suu Ngo, 67, has been working as a street sweeper with the DPW the past five years along Irving Street in the Inner Sunset. She talks about the importance of family in her life and the urge to keep working.

The Opera Singer

From the biggest stages in the world to the streets of San Francisco. Tim Blevins has suffered from addiction, health problems and housing issues but retains a resiliency to rebound and make it back to centerstage, reconnect with his family and mend his missteps.

Oldest Goat in the Bay

At 90 years old, Walt Schneebeli swims in the bay three times a week with a group that calls themselves the ‘old goats.’ Walt is the oldest goat still swimming.

Erik Sandquist takes us through the Golden Gate Bridge north of San Francisco in the Pacific Ocean and speaks about his experience as a commercial anchovy fisherman

Last Men Standing
for the San Francisco Chronicle

EDITORIAL 
FEATURE DOCUMENTARY

Surrounded by the ghosts of a generation lost to the AIDS epidemic, eight gay men search for meaning in a life they never expected to have.
65min / San Francisco, USA 2016

Kreh Mellick‘s work relates fictions inspired by folklore, nostalgia, illustration and daily habits. She works primarily with gouache on paper, often cut and layered in reassembled environments. She combines complex, decorative patterns with airy, minimalist, ethereal landscapes.