'The View Between Villages—An Eaton Fire Film'
Tess Bellman Discusses Her New Short Film About Altadena
S.W. Lauden is my pen name. The person behind it is Steve Coulter.
My family and I sadly lost our Altadena, CA home to the Eaton Fire. We are all safe, but the road ahead will no doubt be difficult.
These “Vodka Sauce” posts are more Coulter than Lauden, but I’m trying to spread them out between our regularly scheduled “music, books and music books” programming.
Our daughter Lucy texted to say she was flying to LA in early March to help her friend shoot a short film.
It’s the kind of project she and Tess Bellman have collaborated on many times since helping found a film club in high school. Tess spent her teen years living in the San Gabriel foothills with her family, but is now a sophomore Film and TV Production student at the USC School of Cinematic Arts.
“The requirements for this assignment were actually very sparse,” Tess told me. “The course centered around a genre called New Media, which can just be summarized to include any media that is distributed on the internet. …Students were given the creative freedom to produce whatever they wanted, so long as it fell under that genre.”
Tess chose to make a music video inspired by Noah Kahan’s “The View Between Villages.” Kahan is an artist Tess and her friends have obsessed over since high school, but hearing this track a week after the fire gave her new perspective.
The song stopped Tess in her tracks while walking to class.
“It was the first time in days I just had to cry. I texted Lucy, telling her that, at her own risk, she needed to listen to the song with Altadena in mind,” Tess said.
“Lucy responded saying that she had already crossed this bridge, and sent me a draft of the X/Z Song Trader that she was finishing up. Her words echoed the same thoughts I had been having, giving life to the feelings I was struggling to materialize. The images of the music video were coming to mind for the very first time.”
Tess interviewed Lucy for the short film, as well as their close friend Taylor Hugens, a professional dancer whose family lost their home around the corner from ours, and me. All three of them spent a lot of time at our small Altadena house over the years, filling it with music, laughter and priceless memories.
The small crew—including producer Nathalie Grenyk and cinematographer Brandon Jaiyen—set up in our Monrovia Airbnb early that Saturday morning before heading off to other locations around LA, including the Hugens’ property. They seemed to work around the clock and that focus is reflected in the moving end result.
I saw the video for the first time on Monday and knew I had to share it as part of this series. My brief involvement aside, it’s a heart-wrenchingly beautiful short film that truly captures the grief and trauma of the Eaton Fire and its aftermath. I’m honored to be involved, but as a father I was really moved by the scripted scene of Lucy at a “college party,” and Taylor dancing in front of what was once her family’s home.
Tess’s family lives east of Altadena in an area thankfully spared by the fire, but her personal connections to our community shine through.
“The process of making this film has changed my perspective on the Eaton Fire and the experiences of my friends. Seeing their homes—homes that I had also come to love over the years—unrecognizable and flattened to the ground left a pit in my stomach,” Tess said.
“I also saw things I didn't expect. I walked past neighbors of the Coulter’s taping a sign onto a post advertising the free warm dinner they prepared down the street. I saw signs hung on the gates of houses narrowly missed by the fire that read ‘the rose will bloom again.’ I saw a woman pour clean water into a bowl for any stray animals or local wildlife that might have also had their home taken away. There were several times while filming in Altadena when we were stopped by neighbors coming by to offer their condolences to Taylor and Lucy, despite also standing in the ruins of their own homes.”
The View Between Villages—An Eaton Fire Film was only posted publicly this week, but early response from a USC screening and private links sent to family and friends has been overwhelmingly positive. There are currently no plans to screen the film or submit to festivals, but Tess says she’s open to the right opportunities.
“The copyright of the song prohibits me from doing much with it, so I guess it is time to pray that Noah Kahan grants me permission and usage rights. For now, YouTube is my film festival, so that is the public forum where it will live,” Tess said.
“The process was just meant to be cathartic for me and to be shared amongst my friends and family. However, seeing that several people felt moved or represented by the film, I would absolutely love to share it with a wider net.”
Just watched this. Very, very powerful stuff. Congrats to Tess, Lucy, and all involved!
It's the little things that make a difference and help you to keep moving forward. Together.
This film, while little in terms of the sheer magnitude of what your family and community have experienced, is actually huge in terms of art helping one to find closure, healing, and togetherness in the face of enormous tragedy. Even if for just 4.5 minutes. That is gold!
Thank you for sharing this fantastic short film (well done to all from the writers, director, those behind the camera, actors, and editors, etc.). I send you, your family, and your community my best wishes.