Award-Winning Documentary Feature FIRE THROUGH DRY GRASS' OPENS IN NYC SEPT. 29

Fire Through Dry Grass: The Unseen Tragedy in an NYC Nursing Home

Imagine being confined in a nursing home, not because you're elderly, but because you're a survivor of gun violence. Meet the Reality Poets, a group of disabled Black and brown artists who live in Coler, a nursing home on Roosevelt Island, New York City. Their unusual band of brothers includes members like Andres "Jay" Molina, a former minor league baseball player from the Dominican Republic, who now lives with a rare lung condition.

Don't let the snapback caps and Air Jordans fool you. They may not look like typical nursing home residents, but they're fighters, poets, and, as it turns out, filmmakers. When the COVID-19 pandemic hit their home, they swapped their microphones for GoPros, documenting their chilling experiences in Fire Through Dry Grass.

Unmasking The Pandemic in Real Time

Co-directed by Jay and Alexis Neophytides, the film unveils the reality behind the nursing home's brick walls. As public officials deny the severity of the situation, the Reality Poets record COVID-19-positive patients being moved into their bedrooms while nurses create makeshift PPE out of garbage bags. Trapped in their home, the poets compare their situation to their past life on the dangerous streets, using their rhymes to express their feelings of confinement.

Behind the Production of Fire Through Dry Grass

Fire Through Dry Grass is not your usual documentary. It's a raw, emotional journey, co-produced by The Big Chair Inc., American Documentary | POV, and Independent Television Service (ITVS), with funding from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB). The production team includes renowned figures like Sara Bolder, Jim LeBrecht, and Erika Dilday, with cinematography by Jay himself and Alexis Neophytides.

The Filmmakers: A Unique Blend of Artists

Andres "Jay" Molina and Alexis Neophytides are the driving forces behind this documentary. Jay, once a minor league ballplayer, turned to drug selling and prison before his health took a turn. Now, he's a passionate filmmaker, poet, and advocate for people living with disabilities. Alexis, a NY Emmy® Award-winning filmmaker, focuses on community stories and has directed popular series like Neighborhood Slice and 9.99.

Producer Jennilie Brewster, an artist known for her landscape paintings and writing, led the arts-and-justice initiative OPEN DOORS on Roosevelt Island, which collaborated with the Reality Poets.

Fire Through Dry Grass: A Testament to Resilience

Fire Through Dry Grass is more than a film. It's a testament to the resilience of the human spirit, a story of survival, and above all, a refusal to be confined and erased. Drawing from their past experiences, the Reality Poets have turned a pandemic horror into a beacon of hope and inspiration.

TELEVISION BROADCAST AND STREAMING RELEASE
Following its theatrical release, the film will have its national PBS television debut on POV on Monday, October 30, 2023, and will be streaming on PBS.org and the PBS App through January 28, 2024.

-By Anita Johnson-Brown          

Fire Through Dry Grass Watch the Trailer Now. 

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