The summer of 2020 was a brutal time for Australia, as bushfires devastated massive areas of the country and record-breaking heat took a toll on its citizens. Thirty-four people across the country died, including several volunteer firefighters who were underfunded and not equipped for what they were facing.
In a world where we still argue whether or not climate change exists, these bushfires should be a wake-up call for what is coming for every single one of us, not just Australia. My eyes sting every time I go outside now thanks to the high air quality index numbers and the moon looks red at night. I never remember this ever happening before and I know it’s not going to get better.
Director and writer Eddie Martin was on the ground for much of this and shows the Black Summer fires in a way that makes you feel as if you were there. There’s a harrowing moment when a woman literally tears her shirt off to rescue a koala on fire and pours bottled water all over it before taking it to a shelter. For all the trauma in this, that hit me the hardest.
You can watch this on Tubi.
