Film recounts firefighter crew of Apache women
Film recounts firefighter crew of Apache women
27 March 2011
published by www.azstarnet.com
USA — Tucsonan Sande Zeig, who served as the Loft Cinema’s director and programmer from 2002 to 2006, has directed an hourlong documentary that will air on KUAT at 9 p.m. Monday.
Zeig’s film, “Apache 8” – which was sponsored in part by the University of Arizona’s Hanson Film Institute and produced by the institute’s director, Vicky Westover – tells the story of a wildland firefighter crew that consists of White Mountain Apache women. Zeig blends archival footage with interviews with four members from different generations, letting them recount their stories as they traveled the state and country battling wildfires.
The women describe the hardships they’ve faced on the job as well as the senses of pride and kinship they received.
“When I started making the film, I thought it was going to be about this all-women crew, ‘Apache 8,’ but it became something else, something more,” said Zeig via email. “I discovered, during the making of the film, that each of the women we featured have all excelled and been honored with community and national recognition. I had no idea when we started.”
