Chris Smith: Homegrown director’s ‘Fire on the Hill’ will captivate

“Fire on the Hill” is a documentary that was made by a Santa Rosa native and that has nothing to do with our fire or our hill.

Brett Fallentine, a 1999 Montgomery High alum who went on to UC Berkeley and then USC, was moved to write, direct and produce the film by his fascination with the Black Cowboys of Compton in South Central Los Angeles.

Their stable was known as the Hill until its destruction by a mysterious fire in 2012. Fallentine’s film delves into the lives of three of the cowboys following the blaze.

“Fire on the Hill” just premiered at the Los Angeles Film Festival, where it did well. It won the festival’s LA Muse Documentary Award.

HHHHHH

A GRANGE AGAIN: There’s a move on, you may know, to restore the long underutilized Rincon Valley Grange as the true, vibrant community asset it once was.

Things are happening at the grange at 5055 Rincon Ave., among them today’s “Rising from the Ashes” pancake breakfast.

It happens from 8 a.m. to noon and it honors some of the people who saved people, animals and property during the firestorms of almost exactly a year ago.

HHHHHH

ALSO IN RINCON VALLEY is a second chance to see the masterpiece of a Fountaingrove Round Barn model built by retired teacher Lindsay Olsen.

The staff of the Rincon Valley Library on Montecito Boulevard has the HO-scale barn and interpretive materials in a glass display case. The exhibit will remain there through the end of the month.

Olsen had the miniature of the round barn - the north Santa Rosa landmark destroyed by fire a year ago - at the Sonoma County Fair. But maybe you didn’t see it. Or would like to see it again.

HHHHHH

BROKEN BATON: It’s unlikely that Francesco Lecce-?Chong, who premieres as the Santa Rosa Symphony’s conductor this weekend, will ever forget his debut as a candidate for the post a year ago.

Lecce-Chong’s third scheduled performance last year, set for Monday, Oct. 9, was canceled because of the firestorms. And two days earlier, during a passionate moment in the Saturday evening performance, the then 30-year-old conductor managed to snap his baton.

Smiles filled the Green Music Center on Friday evening when, amid the gala kicking off Lecce-Chong’s first season as music director, the symphony presented him the broken baton in a keepsake frame.

HHHHHH

JOHN BURGESS, who’s rightly attracted national acclaim as a photographer for the Press Democrat and Sports Illustrated, is very much, at heart, a teacher.

Starting Oct. 22, John will instruct a photo portraiture class at SRJC. Lighting will be the focus of Art 66.1 Studio Portraiture, which will meet Mondays and Wednesdays from 9 a.m. to noon.

HHHHHH

THE ACADEMY HELPED, but new Santa Rosa Police Officer Ryan Hughes learned much about what it takes to do well in law enforcement at home, and at his grandparents’ place.

Ryan’s dad, Tim, wore the SRPD badge throughout a career that ended with his retirement earlier this year. And Ryan’s granddad, Robert, was a captain with the department when he retired in the 1980s.

You can reach Staff Writer Chris Smith at 707 521-5211 and chris.smith@pressdemocrat.com.