Experiencing Interruptions?

Controlled Burn

Reid spends his final day of parole doing all the things that got him there in the first place.

  • Peter Howie
    Director
  • Peter Howie
    Writer
  • Breton Lalama
    Key Cast
    "Reid"
  • Devin Ross
    Key Cast
    "Marty"
  • Peter Howie
    Producer
  • Jenn McGouran
    Producer
  • Ryan McIntyre
    Producer
  • Geof Read
    Producer
  • Ryan McIntyre
    Cinematographer
  • Peter Howie
    Editor
  • Project Type:
    Short, Student
  • Genres:
    Drama, Crime
  • Runtime:
    21 minutes 51 seconds
  • Completion Date:
    March 31, 2025
  • Country of Origin:
    Canada
  • Country of Filming:
    Canada
  • Language:
    English
  • Shooting Format:
    Digital
  • Aspect Ratio:
    16:9
  • Film Color:
    Color
  • First-time Filmmaker:
    No
  • Student Project:
    Yes - York University
  • Digital Cinema Package:
    Unavailable
Director Biography - Peter Howie

Peter Howie is a Toronto-based writer, director, and editor whose films explore emotional ambiguity, fractured relationships, and the stories people tell themselves to justify their choices. He holds an MFA in Film Production from York University and brings over a decade of experience in community-based filmmaking, editing, and narrative design. He has a background in punk and live-event archiving, which shaped his commitment to collaborative filmmaking and the ethics of storytelling from within a community, not outside of it.

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Director Statement

Controlled Burn is rooted in experience I know well: the desire to change, and the ease of slipping back. It’s a story about self-deception dressed up as progress, about the people who become symbols of our worst habits. I wanted to explore what it means to choose the same mistake twice... and call it growth.