Episode 29: Filmmaker Ondi Timoner Aims To ‘Save’ Altadena, And Help Her Community
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We taped this episode on January 8th, 2026, exactly one year after much of Altadena awoke to the news that their homes and their neighborhoods had burned, and their lives were forever changed. Filmmaker Ondi Timoner was overseas shooting a documentary when the Eaton Fire destroyed her home of 14 years, and wiped her entire neighborhood away. She learned about the fate of her house from her neighbor Randy Vance via a text.
As soon as she came back, she picked up her camera and began to tell the story of what happened last January, highlighting the displacement of friends and neighbors, the endless financial challenges, and the daily heartache — and small joys — of trying to move forward. Ondi joined forces with fellow Altadenean, Heavenly Hughes, and the non profit My Tribe Rise to help their neighbors with immediate, temporary housing needs, fight foreclosures, and, hopefully, help people come back to Altadena and rebuild the homes they lost to the flames. Her short documentary, All The Walls Came Down, was completed in months and has been distributed in partnership with L.A. Times Studios as part of the L.A. Times Short Docs program. It’s been shortlisted for an Oscar nomination.
As soon as she came back, she picked up her camera and began to tell the story of what happened last January, highlighting the displacement of friends and neighbors, the endless financial challenges, and the daily heartache — and small joys — of trying to move forward. Ondi joined forces with fellow Altadenean, Heavenly Hughes, and the non profit My Tribe Rise to help their neighbors with immediate, temporary housing needs, fight foreclosures, and, hopefully, help people come back to Altadena and rebuild the homes they lost to the flames. Her short documentary, All The Walls Came Down, was completed in months and has been distributed in partnership with L.A. Times Studios as part of the L.A. Times Short Docs program. It’s been shortlisted for an Oscar nomination.
