At the Park Hotel in Ukraine, filmmaker Justin Roberts sits with journalists, observing their quiet preparations for another day near the front lines. A question from his past lingers in his mind. During his time as a soldier in Afghanistan, Roberts had roomed with James Foley at COP Monti. The two often talked about creating a TV show together. But when ISIS later executed Foley, they used a photo Roberts had taken of him in their propaganda video. That devastating loss left Roberts wrestling with a haunting question: Why do journalists keep going back into the fire?

Among the journalists at the Park Hotel is Carol Guzy, a four-time Pulitzer Prize winner and one of the most celebrated photojournalists in history. Despite her remarkable achievements, Carol remains intensely introverted. Her camera serves as a bridge to humanity’s most profound moments. From the fall of the Berlin Wall to Haiti’s earthquakes, from Kosovo’s refugee crisis to the aftermath of 9/11, her work reflects a deep commitment to capturing stories that matter.

As Roberts follows Carol and other journalists to the front lines, he begins to uncover the diverse motivations that compel them. Young Spanish journalist Nuria Garrido covers her first war with an unwavering belief that silence in the face of atrocity equals complicity. Roger Persiva, returning to conflict journalism after a decade away, seeks closure for a journey that began in Bosnia. Ken Cedeno, a veteran photographer who has worked alongside Carol for 25 years, reflects on her rare ability to find moments of grace in destruction.

The Park Hotel itself would not escape the destruction of war. Two Russian missiles later reduced it to rubble, scattering its occupants and their stories. But through interviews and scenes from the front lines, the resilience of these journalists remains unbroken. Each story reveals the personal cost of bearing witness to war. For Carol, this means continuing her work despite depression and the scars of past trauma. Her lens often turns to the “babushkas” – elderly women whose quiet strength and perseverance offer glimpses of hope amidst the devastation.

Chasing Fire shows that war correspondence is not about seeking death or destruction. It’s about illuminating the resilience of the human spirit in its darkest hours. Through Carol’s enduring search for hope after decades of trauma, Roberts finds an answer to his question. These journalists return to the fire not for glory, but because they believe in the power of bearing witness – a power that reveals both humanity’s capacity for cruelty and its unyielding resilience.