Burn The World For You

Announcing Something Original!

[January 6, 2026]

Welcome to the official site for Burn The World For You, a psychological sci-fi thriller currently in pre-production and targeting Sundance 2027.

This film has been years in the making—hundreds of script revisions, countless conversations about memory, tech, and grief, and an obsessive commitment to building a world that feels real even when reality itself is breaking down.

What This Film Is About

Burn The World For You follows Sam Clarke and Nia Bennett as their West Lake L.A. neighborhood starts “losing” people—then losing the memory of them. What begins as a few unsettling blanks becomes a chain of revelations: the streets don’t lead out, the ever-present HUM is doing something to their minds, and reality itself is being edited to keep the community compliant.

As Sam and Nia chase proof through missing names, warped routines, and a growing pattern of erasure, they uncover a system with one brutal talent: it can rewrite what you know… and make you doubt what you feel.

And when love becomes the one thing that still feels real, they learn the central rule of this world: the price of love is never yours alone.

Why This Story

I’ve always been fascinated by how we hold onto memories—what we choose to remember, what we fight to forget, and what happens when someone else decides for us. This film explores the horror of invisible control, the paranoia of doubting your own mind, and the devastating question: what would you sacrifice to hold onto someone you love?

Set in South Los Angeles with authentic cultural specificity, Burn The World For You is grounded science fiction that trusts its audience. We’re not explaining everything. We’re building dread. And we’re making sure every detail—from the technology to the community dynamics—feels earned. There’s a cultural theme beneath the surface that deals with erasure, and gentrification.

Where We Are Now

We’re deep in pre-production with a completed screenplay, key cast members secured (including Brooklyn Reign, Daniel Fitzgerald, Dawnielle Matterr, and Tarik Lawrence), and principal photography scheduled for 2026. I’m building props, developing shot lists, scouting locations, and obsessing over every frame.

This is being produced under my company, Ash & Signal Pictures—named for my wife Ashley (the constant) and my role as a storyteller (the signal). Every decision I’m making is in service of one goal: creating a film that rewards your attention, respects your intelligence, and stays with you long after the credits roll.

What’s Next

Over the coming months, this blog will document the journey—casting announcements, production design reveals, behind-the-scenes glimpses into how we’re building this world, and the occasional reflection on what it takes to make an independent film while working a full-time job as a school bus driver.

If you want to follow along, subscribe to our email list and you’ll get updates delivered directly to your inbox. No spam, no nonsense—just real progress on a film we’re building with everything we’ve got.

My next post will dive a bit into the Children’s book which threads our story “The Bell Sheep”, which I’ve published so that die hard fans of the story can have a real piece of the wild reality within the film.

Thank you for being here at the beginning.

— Steve E. Barnes
Writer | Director | Executive Producer
Ash & Signal Pictures