New Documentary Looks at America's Volunteer Fire Service Community
Sub-Genre Media will release the engaging documentary Odd Hours, No Pay, Cool Hat, a Vignette Production and Hold Fast Features Project from filmmaking co-directing team Gary Matoso & Cameron Zohoori, for a North American theatrical release beginning on July 7, 2023, in New York and Los Angeles, as well as across Washington, Texas, Oregon, Tennessee, Connecticut, Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Michigan, and Wisconsin, among others, with a North American TVOD/digital platforms release set for July 27, 2023.
Odd Hours, No Pay, Cool Hat is inspired by an original story by Peter Yoakum and takes audiences behind the lines of America’s volunteer fire service community. The film is a tribute to the nearly 700,000 volunteer firefighters around the country – highlighting their selfless bravery, compassion, motivation, and unfaltering sense of community. The film is presented by John Deere in association with the National Volunteer Fire Council (NVFC), Hold Fast Features, and Vignette.
This extraordinary film has screened as part of a coveted private screening series including at the John Deere headquarters, the NVFC Board of Directors meeting, and the NVFC Training Summit, with an upcoming screening at the Elevate from Brand Storytelling in Sundance, UT. In addition, local volunteer fire departments are invited to host a community screening event to build community support and recruit new members.
The 90-minute film grants audiences exclusive access to follow the inspiring journey of the most remarkable neighbors whose help you hope you never need – volunteer firefighters – as they encounter heart-breaking challenges and exhilarating triumphs to fulfill a single mission: serving their community. Heart-warming, humorous, and thrilling, this sweeping portrait of bravery will capture your heart and inspire.
“It’s a film that revives a sense of togetherness and community in the hearts of viewers,” says Sub-Genre’s head of distribution Jordana Meade. “We’re thrilled to release Odd Hours, a documentary that shines a light on the diversity of communities across the country helping their neighbors in the most unexpected and extraordinary ways.”
The Odd Hours, No Pay, Cool Hat filmmaking team is led by co-director, DP, and producer Gary Matoso, co-director and editor Cameron Zohoori, executive producer Peter Yoakum, casting director and associate producer Louise Colette Matoso, and composer Dillon Byron.
“The project quickly grew into a challenge: how to preserve and protect one of America’s most critically necessary treasures, its first responder volunteer corps,” says executive producer Peter Yoakum.
“This is a film created as a tribute to the nearly 700,000 volunteer firefighters around the country,” explains co-director Cameron Zohoori. “In exploring the world of the fire service, we became fascinated by the incredible diversity of people and places we encountered. At a fragile and fractured point in American history, the film is entertaining, hopeful, and optimistic. It suggests that when it comes to the most desperate and important moments of our lives, we will drop everything and come together to help our neighbors.”
To follow the film, watch the trailer, and find a showing, www.oddhoursfilm.com.
About Sub-Genre Media
Sub-Genre is a distributor of specialized films for niche audiences, producer of original productions, and a strategic consultancy agency that guides brands and brand partners through the process of leveraging entertainment for marketing and CSR initiatives.
About John Deere:
Deere & Company (www.JohnDeere.com) is a global leader in the delivery of agricultural, turf, construction, and forestry equipment. We help our customers push the boundaries of what's possible in ways that are more productive and sustainable to help life leap forward. Our technology-enabled products including John Deere Autonomous 8R Tractor, See & Spray™, and E-Power Backhoe are just some of the ways we help meet the world's increasing need for food, shelter, and infrastructure. Deere & Company also provides financial services through John Deere Financial. For more information on Deere & Company, visit us at www.deere.com/en/news/.
About the National Volunteer Fire Council
The National Volunteer Fire Council (NVFC) is the leading nonprofit membership association representing the interests of the volunteer fire, EMS, and rescue services. The NVFC serves as the voice of the volunteer in the national arena and provides critical resources, programs, education, and advocacy for first responders across the nation. Focus areas include responder health and safety, volunteer recruitment and retention, leadership, planning and preparedness, and more. Through the Make Me A Firefighter campaign, the NVFC helps connect prospective volunteers with their local fire department. Learn more at www.nvfc.org.
About Hold Fast Features
Hold Fast Features was organized in 2019 to develop documentary projects that give people the opportunity to recognize that we all have a lot more good things in common than what we generally hear about. Hold Fast Features created and developed its first feature film Odd Hours, No Pay, Cool Hat that will release in select theaters and nationwide across digital platforms in summer 2023.
About Vignette Vignette combines the cinematic skills of a documentary production company with the strategic insight of a creative agency. Gary Matoso started Vignette in 2011 after a long stint as a photojournalist, bringing together a team of like-minded creatives to tell impactful stories of real people. Whether creating branded campaigns or original film productions, our roots in photojournalism and documentary spark the curiosity at the core of everything we do. Vignette works across media, creating photo, short-form, and feature-length stories. Learn more at storyiseverything.com.
