Taos residents will have the chance to see the 90‑minute documentary “burn, scar” at the Taos Center for the Arts (TCA) next week. The film, which won the Best New Mexico Feature award at the Santa Fe International Film Festival, examines the 2022 Hermits Peak‑Calf Canyon fire—the largest wildfire in New Mexico history, burning more than 340,000 acres across Mora, San Miguel and Taos counties.
Local filmmaker tells a regional story
Director Hillary Bachelder moved to Taos in 2021 from Chicago, where she worked on socially focused documentaries. While taking a class with the Santa Fe Watershed Association, she witnessed the fire’s start when two prescribed burns lost control and merged under dry, windy conditions. “I was in the exact right place and time,” Bachelder said, noting that a Forest Service ecologist had just spoken to her class about the benefits of prescribed fire.
The film follows seven protagonists—including acequia parciantes, generational landowners, land‑grant activists, a Forest Service fire ecologist, a ranger and an Albuquerque attorney who returned to aid her community. Bachelder emphasizes empathy and understanding, even when she disagrees with the people on screen.
Screenings and community dialogue
Four showings are scheduled at the TCA: Nov. 1, 4, 6 and 7. Each screening will be followed by a conversation with Bachelder and local wildfire experts to connect the film’s themes to everyday life in Taos County. Topics will include rural resiliency, collaborative land‑management approaches and the ongoing recovery from post‑fire flooding.
Attorney Antonia Roybal‑Mack, who assisted fire victims with FEMA claims, notes that the recovery process is still years away. “The most critical at the moment is that people in the burn scar still haven’t been made whole,” she says.
After an extremely dry year, heavy rains this fall caused additional flooding in communities still rebuilding from the blaze, underscoring the film’s relevance. Bachelder hopes the documentary can serve as a healing tool and spark dialogue among neighbors who might not otherwise engage.
Why the film matters to Taos
Beyond recounting a tragic fire, “burn, scar” highlights the deep passion Northern New Mexicans have for their land, even amid disagreements over how best to protect it. By bringing the story to the TCA, the filmmakers aim to foster understanding and encourage collaborative solutions for future land‑management challenges.
Original reporting: Taos News — read the source article.
