The documentary The Seventh Fire provides an unflinching look at rampant poverty and drug use in Pine Point, Minnesota, a hardscrabble village within the White Earth Indian Reservation.
The film focuses largely on charismatic gang leader Rob Brown, who has spent more than half his life in prison and is headed for incarceration once again as the film is underway. As Brown ponders how to get his life on track for the sake of his children, Pine Point teenager Kevin Fineday finds himself at a crossroads, considering his future.
Director Jack Riccobono and Chris Eyre, one of the producers on The Seventh Fire, and director of the 1998 movie Smoke Signals, recounts how their subject Rob Brown helped them gain access and trust within the Pine Point community, and about their struggles to fund and distribute the film.
Their quest for backers and collaborators led the filmmakers to a unique assortment of people -- from Sumner Redstone's former girlfriend, Sydney Holland, to Oscar-winning actress Natalie Portman and legendary director Terrence Malick.
The Seventh Fire premiered at the Berlin Film Festival, had a theatrical release over the summer, and is now streaming on iTunes and Amazon. It also received a special screening at the White House. Upcoming screenings, many of them with Riccobono and Eyre in attendance, can be found on the film's website