The indie film is the story of two friends who quit their service industry jobs to restore an old bowling center and serve the world鈥檚 greatest pizza.
It feels like a love letter to the real-life town in southern Oregon, where Luis Rodriguez, one of the film鈥檚 producers, lives.
But today, Phoenix is just beginning to recover from the devastating . The wildfire tore through southern Oregon earlier this month, burning over 2,600 homes.
Rodriguez says it鈥檚 still shocking to see the fire鈥檚 violent effects on his town.
鈥淵ou cruise down the highway, and both sides are just completely leveled off, flattened,鈥� he said. 鈥淚t gets very confusing. Also, you look over at certain areas, and you almost forget what was there.鈥�
鈥淧hoenix, Oregon鈥� was actually filmed 50 miles away in Klamath Falls, but Rodriguez says it accurately captures the essence of his small town in a way that鈥檚 surreal to watch, now that so much has been destroyed.
He and his collaborators have pivoted to using the film to raise funds for the massive relief effort his community is facing. of the film and a are going to help the community rebuild. The film鈥檚 producers have also started , in partnership with the United Way of Jackson County.
鈥淚 want people to know that this is a very beautiful community,鈥� Rodriguez said. 鈥淭here are a lot of wonderful, hard-working people that live here. We will bounce back. It鈥檚 going to be hard, but I just want people to know there鈥檚 a lot of heart here and in the surrounding area.鈥�
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