Private Project

A Disaster Diary: Learn. Pray. Prepare!

A powerful personal documentary born from the firsthand experience in the face of wildfires and community upheaval. This diary empowers you to transform fear into faith and crisis into purpose.

Why make this? Because tomorrow’s survival begins today.

  • Pamela Conley Ulich
    Director
  • Pamela Conley Ulich
    Writer
  • Pamela Conley Ulich
    Producer
  • Haylynn Conrad
    Key Cast
  • Joe Rozum
    Original Music - "Betty's Song"
  • Project Type:
    Documentary, Experimental
  • Runtime:
    31 minutes 22 seconds
  • Completion Date:
    December 11, 2025
  • Production Budget:
    50 USD
  • Country of Origin:
    United States
  • Country of Filming:
    United States
  • Language:
    English
  • Shooting Format:
    IPhone
  • Aspect Ratio:
    16:9
  • Film Color:
    Color
  • First-time Filmmaker:
    Yes
  • Student Project:
    No
  • Digital Cinema Package:
    Unavailable
  • FilmFestival LA @ LALive
    Los Angeles
    United States
    November 8, 2025
    Best Documentary
  • Los Angeles Reel Film Festival
    Los Angeles
    United States
    October 12, 2025
    Best Documentary
  • Malibu International Film Festival

    October 12, 2025
    Malibu Filmmaker Award
  • Independent Shorts Awards

    November 14, 2025
    Finalist
  • Florence Film Awards

    Official Selection
  • LA Independent Women Film Festival
    Los Angeles
    Official Selection
  • Dumbo Film Festival
    New York, NY
    Semi-Finalist
  • Hollywood International Indie Film & Screenplay Awards
    Los Angeles
    Official Selection
  • Golden State Film Festival
    Los Angeles
    United States
    March 4, 2026
    Official Selection
  • Santa Barbara International Movie Awards
    Santa Barbara
    United States
    January 26, 2026
    Semi-Finalist
  • Paris Film Awards
    Paris
    France
    Winner
  • Global Shorts
    Los Angeles
    Finalist
Director Biography - Pamela Conley Ulich

Pamela Conley Ulich was born in Kansas and followed her dream to live in California. Pamela hopes to create meaningful change through art, storytelling, and public service. An author, attorney, professor, and artist, she currently serves on the Malibu Arts Commission and previously served eight years on the Malibu City Council, including a term as mayor. Her work—both civic and creative—focuses on resilience, healing, and inspiring communities to grow stronger together.

Add Director Biography
Director Statement

Born from the ashes of the 2025 Los Angeles wildfires and rooted in a deep desire to help communities heal and prepare, "A Disaster Diary: Learn. Pray. Prepare!" is a personal and communal journey through trauma, resilience, and renewal. Blending raw documentary footage, community voices, and moments of reflection, this film captures the emotional toll of disaster and transforms it into a call to action.

Part memoir, part prayer, and part emergency plan, this film urges viewers to face the rising threats of disasters with faith, compassion, and courage. It is a love letter to those we’ve lost, those who’ve stayed to rebuild, and those yet to face the flames.

This work is both deeply personal and profoundly communal — a raw and real testament to survival, loss, and resilience in the wake of the devastating 2025 fires in Los Angeles.

Shot entirely on an iPhone and edited in iMovie, this project is intentionally unpolished. Its immediacy reflects the urgency of disaster itself — shaky frames, unfiltered moments, and unguarded testimony. What it may lack in technical polish, it carries in truth, honesty, and human connection. The film captures communities coming together in the face of chaos: delivering supplies and Starlinks to neighbors without power, turning urgent care centers into sanctuaries, and transforming grief into action and prayer.

As a first-time director, I approached this film with humility and courage. I did not set out to make a perfect film; I set out to bear witness. The process of creating A Disaster Diary mirrored the resilience it portrays — working with the tools available, adapting constantly, and finding beauty in imperfection.

My hope is that audiences will leave with a deeper understanding of how ordinary people, bound by love and faith, rise from ashes stronger together.