A reclusive ex-Hotshot firefighter and his estranged teenage daughter are forced to guide four escaped convicts through the rugged wilderness while eluding a raging wildfire. (Quarterfinalist - 2015 Page International Screenwriting Awards; Second-round - 2016 & 2017 Austin Film Festival)

PITCH DECK

SYNOPSIS:

Who will win, the evil of man or the forces of nature?

WILL BROOKS (46), a once prominent member of an elite firefighting brigade, is now a recluse living in a remote cabin in the wilderness. Still haunted by his firefighting decision that resulted in his son Kyle’s death, Will is suddenly thrust into parental mode when his ex-wife KIM (44) uses a business trip as a chance for him to reconnect with his daughter ALLIE (16), who is hardwired with teenage angst.

A lightning storm ignites the parched mid-summer forest as an FBI convoy begins their trek to deliver four convicts to a Supermax prison near the Rocky Mountain town of Florence, CO. Attempting to circumvent a fire evacuation roadblock, the FBI convoy strays from their route and the decision leads to an accident allowing the convicts to escape.

As the convicts stumble direction-less through the forest night, they spot the lights of Will’s cabin. MORENO, a high-profile Mexican drug lord, assumes the lead and ruthlessly uses Allie as leverage to force Will into guiding the convicts out of the rugged mountain wilderness. The advancing fire and infighting between the convicts opens the door for Will and Allie to make a daring escape through the fire.

With news of the spreading wildfire, Kim has abandoned her trip and returned. When Kim discovers that Will and Allie are captives of the convicts, she convinces FBI AGENT ADAMS to take her on the search, as her knowledge of the area and the understanding of Will’s tactical mindset in fighting fires will be beneficial.

During the search their FBI helicopter is shot down by the convicts. Kim and Agent Adams survive the crash and they find refuse from the fire in an abandoned Forest Service outpost. The convicts come across the outpost and Kim and Agent Adams play cat and mouse to conceal their identity and to buy time for a rescue. But the fire rages closer, narrowing the chance of any possible rescue attempt.

Upon their safe return to base camp, Will discovers that Kim has joined the FBI’s search but the helicopter they departed in has disappeared. Will fights his injuries and the odds to embark on a daring one-man mission back into the fiery landscape to find Kim.

Will’s rescue attempt is thwarted and Moreno forces him to complete their escape while leaving Kim behind trapped by the advancing firestorm. With time running out to save Kim and escape the wildfire, Will prevails in a final desperate battle with Moreno and returns to find Kim whom, through her own fire knowledge, has survived.

The experience reconnects Will with his daughter, allows him to overcome the guilt of his son’s death, and come to the realization that life and his firefighting expertise still has much to offer.

WALL OF FIRE - FEATURE