Issa Rae-Produced Eaton Fire Doc ‘When the Sky Turned Orange’ To Premiere At Pan African Film Festival

EXCLUSIVE: The documentary When the Sky Turned Orange, from the Issa Rae, Deniese Davis, and Talitha Watkins’ cofounded production company ColorCreative, is set to premiere at the Pan African Film Festival on February 10th in Los Angeles.

When the Sky Turned Orange commemorates the devastating Eaton Fire one year later by spotlighting how community members mobilized to provide resources, support, and healing for families impacted by the tragedy.

The documentary is directed by Altadena resident B.P. Edwards, produced by Maia Miller, edited by Mayah Gilmer and Matt Kleppmer, who served as director of cinematography, all of whom were part of the inaugural cohort of ColorCreative’s Find Your People program. The initiative is a training curriculum that provides specialized resources, mentorship, and guidance for seven essential disciplines in the filmmaking process.

Michael Jordan’s Black Community Commitment through Nike, which reflects Jordan Brand’s broader support of creative voices, partically funder the documentary. Dates for future screenings of When The Sky Turned Orange will be announced at a later date.

“To me, B.P. Edwards represents the future of filmmaking,” said Watkins, President of ColorCreative. “As a member of our inaugural Find Your People Program cohort, he embodies the heart of our mission, which is developing and nurturing emerging creatives who are deeply committed to authenticity in storytelling. Championing his work for a broader audience is truly an honor.”

As a native of Altateda, one of the hardest hit communities during the Eaton Fires due to its proximity to the San Gabriel Mountains in Los Angeles County, Edwards had an intimate personal connection to the project.

After the news of the fires broke and he saw Altadena mobilizing, he wanted to ensure the story was documented. He reached out to his fellow creatives from his cohort to gauge their interest in helping him tell this story, with Miller, Gilmer and Kleppmer taking on roles. Watkins worked with Jordan Brand to provide production support.

According to records released by LA County, the Eaton Fire burned more than 14k acres, destroyed approximately 9,400 structures, damaged more than 1k structures, resulted in 17 deaths, and injured several firefighters. A report from UCLA estimates the financial losses incurred tally up to between $95 and $164 billion, with insured losses estimated at $75 billion.

Rebuilding efforts have been slow to start, with the situation “gaining momentum” as the new year 2026 approached in December, according to the LA Times.

Edwards is a director, cinematographer, and entrepreneur behind the short film Just Friends, who has collaborated on projects with Rae’s Hoorae Media company, BuzzFeed, Food Network, Revolt TV, Amazon Prime Video, Walmart, GoDaddy, and Canva. With experience across feature films, short films, documentaries, commercials, and branded content. Edwards is an alumnus of Langston University, where he earned a BS in Computer Science and an M.S.Ed. in higher education from East Texas A&M University.

The Pan African Film Festival runs from February 16-22, with programming set to screen at the Culver Theater and Cinemark Baldwin Hills Crenshaw. Other notable projects to be seen at the festival include the Shameik Moore and Paris Jackson-led film One Spoon of Chocolate, and a special screening of Lifetime’s Tracy McMillan Presents: Tempted 2 Love.