Thursday, September 28, 2017

OUT on DVD/VOD: Woman on Fire

 

This October, FilmRise will release Julie Sokolow’s newest feature documentary “Woman on Fire,” a unique and intimate look at the first openly transgender firefighter in New York City. After seeing Brooke Guinan featured in the 2014 “So Trans, So What” campaign, Sokolow was inspired to celebrate the courage and beauty of Brooke as she transitioned from male to female while working in an overwhelmingly male-dominated profession. Thanks to Sokolow’s unparalleled access to Brooke’s transition, viewers are presented with an in-depth look at the polarized political and social forces in America today. “Woman on Fire” will be available for sale and rental on Amazon Video, iTunes, and Vudu, as well as DVD and Blu-ray beginning October 3, 2017.

In February 2015, The Village Voice heralded the arrival of “New York’s Bravest” – Brooke Guinan, the first openly transgender firefighter in New York City. Like many in the field, Brooke comes from a long lineage of firefighters. Her father is a respected lieutenant and 9/11 survivor with a 35-year legacy in the FDNY, and her grandfather also dedicated his life to the fire department. Brooke was destined to continue the family’s legacy. Being uncomfortable in her skin all her life, Brooke decides it’s time to transition, which poses not only a challenge to the male-dominated profession her career and life revolves around, but also to the customs of the people she cares about the most – her family.

Currently there are only 52 women firefighters in a workforce of over 10,000 FDNY firefighters. That is less than 1%. Brooke is the only transgender FDNY firefighter. In society at large, ninety percent of trans people report experiencing discrimination in the workplace. Their unemployment rate is double that of the general population.

Hailed “a moving portrait of a New Yorker who’s never been afraid to run where she needs to go, regardless of the dangers that might be waiting for her on the other side,” by Indiewire, and “just what a great social awareness doc should be – equal parts heartwarming and infuriating,” from The Village Voice, “Woman on Fire” won Best LGBT Film by Jury at Oxford Film Festival, and Best Documentary Feature by Audience Award at Bentonville Film Festival.