Cowboys? In Compton? Sonoma-reared filmmaker tells the tale

Sonoma County-reared Brett Fallentine is hard at it in South Central LA, making a film that he intends will not only tell a great story but help to sustain an endangered way of life and alternative to street gangs.

Fallentine is a 1999 graduate of Montgomery High who studied film at Cal and USC. He’s now gathering support for “Fire on the Hill: The Story of the Compton Cowboys.”

The full-length documentary will feature the urban equestrians who ride in that crime-oppressed part of the Southland and try keep young people out of trouble by introducing them to the wonders of horses and the training ring.

“It makes more sense for something like this to exist there than anywhere else,” said Fallentine, who was surprised to discovered that the Western, equine culture runs deep in and near Compton.

He found also that the tradition and the option to gangs is at risk of extinction, largely because of the 2012 fire that destroyed The Hill, an already besieged stables in Athens, just outside of Compton. Sensing the making of his film is urgent, he’s gone onto Kickstarter to seek donations to help cover production costs.

“The end goal is not the film,” Fallentine said from LA. He said he and his partners in the documentary project want to raise awareness about the value of the Western tradition in greater Compton, and perhaps to help make it stronger.

To help with the Kickstarter campign go here