We’re proud to share that Firebreak has been honored with the Bushra Azzouz Impact Award at the 2025 Portland Panorama Film Festival.

This special jury award honors Firebreak for its poetic approach to storytelling and its deep collaboration with its subjects, Brandon Smith and Royal Ramey, who met while fighting wildfires during incarceration and are now training the next generation of wildland firefighters.

The award pays tribute to the legacy of filmmaker, teacher, and community leader Bushra Azzouz, whose work championed participatory, transformative filmmaking that gives subjects true agency in telling their own stories.

We are deeply honored to have Firebreak recognized in this way.

The inaugural Portland Panorama Film Festival took place from April 10 to 20, 2025, and featured more than 120 films from around the world. The festival’s final weekend spotlighted stories from the Pacific Northwest, including Firebreak, which screened on Thursday, April 17, at the iconic Hollywood Theater.

We’re grateful to the festival jury, Ayako Fujitani, Daniel Littlewood, Irene Taylor, Janique L Robillard, and Rana San, for this incredible honor. Most importantly, thank you to the Firebreak team and to Brandon and Royal for sharing their stories with honesty and courage.