Documentary Filmmaker Ondi Timoner Lost Her Home, Research and Equipment in Altadena Fire: ‘It’s All Gone’

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On January 7th, seasoned documentary filmmaker Ondi Timoner and her spouse Morgan Doctor were engrossed in their project in Rome, when suddenly they received a late-night phone call. The caller was none other than Timoner’s brother, urgently sharing the news that he, his family, including Timoner’s 21-year-old son Joaquim and their elderly mother Lisa, had all evacuated to her home in Altadena due to an unknown situation.

According to Timoner, everyone headed to his house as there was hardly any wind where it was located, since they had all been evacuated from their homes in Altadena. Upon arrival, his brother began preparing dinner. Interestingly, no evacuation order had been given at that time. However, unexpectedly, the power went out, and they spotted fires, causing everyone to become alarmed and flee the scene.

On January 7th, Timoner and Doctor received an alarming call but proceeded with their planned trip to Budapest the next day. Their destination was Hungary, where they were due to interview a Holocaust survivor. Upon arrival, however, Timoner learned through a text from her neighbor that their Altadena home had been completely destroyed by fire.

Timoner’s sibling, believing that her residence would remain unaffected, took a few hard drives from the director’s desk. These hard drives housed unedited footage for two documentaries Timoner is presently developing: one titled “All That We Are” focusing on filmmaker Lesley Paterson and the late screenwriter of “All Quiet on the Western Front,” Simon Marshall; and another for Legendary about the Nazis. Additionally, he took the materials related to Timoner’s “All God’s Children,” a film about the increasing conflicts between Jewish and Black Brooklynites, which debuted at DOC NYC in November.

Apart from this unfortunate incident, the two-time winner of the Sundance Grand Jury Prize, Timoner, famed for documentaries like “DIG!,” “We Live in Public,” and “Last Flight Home,” suffered a significant loss. She lost all her personal belongings, including film equipment, hard drives containing footage from previous films, money, jewelry, valuable paintings, and her son’s artwork. Additionally, the director also lost extensive research she had been amassing for a screenplay she was writing about her late father, Eli Timoner, and the company he established in 1972 called Air Florida.

Timoner laments that all the articles his mother compiled about his father’s company during the seventies and eighties have vanished,” he says. “A large container held research materials, my dad’s writings, original letters from him, and even our parents’ love letters, which I had carefully bound with a ribbon – everything is lost now.

The doctor, who is also a musician, remarks, “The issue is that we not only resided in our home, we also both worked there. I’ve lost every musical instrument I owned and all my recording equipment. Similarly, Ondi has lost all her cameras, lenses, her computer, and her equipment. Consequently, it’s been incredibly challenging because it feels like we’ve not just lost our home, but also our workplace. Rebuilding everything from scratch is overwhelming.

In this small town we once knew, all the familiar landmarks are now vanished: banks, post office, our beloved restaurant Fox’s, the pet store, the hardware store – gone. The homes of neighbors, dear friends, all swept away. It feels like a profound loss, a death, on so many fronts. This unexpected event serves as an intense, life-altering reminder of impermanence, a lesson I find myself compelled to accept and internalize.”

(As a movie reviewer, I’d be sharing my thoughts about the impactful transformation depicted in a film.)

In 2011, Eli Timoner purchased a house in Altadena. Before settling down, she made overhauls to the living room and dining room. Following the acquisition of her 2022 documentary “Last Flight Home” by MTV Documentary Films (a film that offers an intimate look at the last 15 days of Eli Timoner’s life before his death through California’s End of Life Option Act in 2021), she proceeded to renovate the kitchen.

According to Timoner, the house was absolutely stunning, almost heavenly. People were drawn to it effortlessly, and anyone who visited simply couldn’t get enough of the place. We hosted amazing outdoor movie nights and community gatherings that felt like a slice of paradise itself. The Wi-Fi password was “Resort5g.

All items in the house, even a safe deposit box believed to be fireproof, went up in flames. The only thing that survived was Timoner’s late father’s cherished cotton robe, which he wore during his childhood as the director. This item was discovered hanging on a hook on the bathroom door.

According to Timoner, “It was his favorite robe.” Everything else in the bathroom appears to be missing, except for the tile wall. The rest of the house seems to have collapsed around it. It feels as though this event might be trying to convey a message. I can’t help but feel that he’s looking out for us somehow. While I don’t consider myself religious, and I tend to be a bit skeptical about such things, I’m left wondering: How is it that a simple cotton robe was the only thing left unharmed in the house?

Currently, Timoner and the Doctor are temporarily residing in the guest house of Annette Bening and Warren Beatty. Their initial encounter took place in 2018 when Timoner’s fictional film “Mapplethorpe” was screened.

As a passionate cinephile, I’ve been truly amazed by the extraordinary generosity shown towards Timoner and her partner. Just recently, documentary filmmaker Liz Garbus (“What Happened, Miss Simone?”) and producer Dan Cogan (“Icarus”) bestowed upon them bags filled with clothing – a heartwarming gesture indeed!

“I am one the luckiest unlucky people out there,” she acknowledges.

After wrapping up our shoot in the enchanting city of Budapest, I joined Director Timoner for a whirlwind trip to the vibrant heart of New York City. Our agenda included media commitments for “All God’s Children” and an exciting 20th anniversary extended edition of “DIG!” titled “DIG! XX.” It was a thrilling opportunity to share our work with audiences, marking significant milestones in our creative journey.

Timoner explained that he simply persevered, as it was his method of dealing with the situation. Since the National Guard had sealed off our neighborhood, there was no option to return to my house.

Last week, Timoner and the Doctor came back to Los Angeles, and they’re currently planning a move to New York City by March.

This week, Timoner is scheduled to attend Sundance for exclusive viewings of “All God’s Children” and her new production titled “The Inn Between,” which focuses on a Utah hospice center catering to the homeless population.

To help Timoner and her family, actress Tara Subkoff set up a GoFundMe.

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2025-01-23 19:46