"Over a decade ago, filmmaker Mimi Chakarova began following a cohort of young people trying to turn their lives around by becoming firefighters and medics through Bay EMT, a free training program. The result of that relationship-building, , shares their stories and the way they intersect with sweeping social issues like crime, public health, poverty, and inequity in a documentary that has the intimacy of a home video."
"Bay EMT's cadets, many of whom were involved with the juvenile justice system, have firsthand experience with the problems they'll be asked to address as first responders. Their pasts both hinder and motivate them. Some go on to save lives. Others don't make it. Chakarova captures cinematic scenes, like Bay EMT director and firefighter Wellington Jackson running into a burning building."
"One trainee, Justin Mayo, describes how, when he became a teenager, people would go out of their way not to sit next to him - a young Black man - on BART. "People would rather stand up for 45 minutes than sit down next to you," Mayo says in the film. That changed, he added, when he put on his cadet uniform. "Me having a uniform on portrayed me as someone who can possibly be a hero, or something.""
Mimi Chakarova followed a cohort of Bay EMT trainees for over a decade as they trained to become firefighters and medics through a free community program. Many cadets had prior involvement with the juvenile justice system and brought firsthand experience of the social problems they would face as first responders. Their pasts functioned both as obstacles and as motivators; some trainees saved lives while others did not complete the path. Chakarova filmed alone on a small budget, capturing both cinematic rescue scenes and intimate, everyday moments. The project maintained ties to Mission Local and screened with proceeds supporting Bay EMT.
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