| “Combustion”
is about a young couple, Greg Darren (Brent Peterson) and Ann Sandoval
(Ana Emilia).
Having apparently just broken up after another violent
outburst, Greg realizes he is becoming more and more like his abusive
father. In a drunken stupor,
he commits suicide by fire. However,
the next morning, he awakes without a burn on his body.
As he comes to the realization that he has been given a
miraculous second chance, he frantically tries to patch things up with
Ann. |
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Ann loves Greg deeply, but
struggles with the idea of going back to him again.
Through the friendly counsel of a co-worker named Jacob (Carlos
Cabarcas), she has
only just recognized that she is a victim in a cycle of abuse like her
mother before her. Fortunately,
as much as she wants to go back to Greg, her conversations with Jacob
have given her a new strength.
As Ann repeatedly refuses to return, Greg desperately struggles
to keep his violent temper in check, and convince her to come back.
Yet
each time his temper rises, so does his body’s temperature.
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| A
few years ago my wife and I became good friends with a woman who was in a very abusive
relationship with her husband of about 5 years.
The interesting thing was that even though everyone around her
could see it, she couldn’t, or chose not to.
At the time I had just written a short supernatural thriller
entitled “Combustion” about a man who is miraculously reborn after
suffering a death by fire. However,
soon after his regeneration, he learns that he is doomed to live like as
the Phoenix
in a cycle of death by spontaneous
combustion and rebirth out of the ashes.
The short screenplay was praised by all who read it, yet for all
of its intrigue it still lacked a strong emotional and human center. |
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It
was while I was contemplating my friend’s situation, that the
emotional and deeply personal core to “Combustion” was
inspired.
A few drafts later, “Combustion” became a riveting tale about
domestic abuse, its cost, and the chance of redemption for both
parties involved while using the visual metaphor of the Phoenix
that I had
previously established.
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-Brent
Peterson
Director, Actor
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