Writer/Director Peter Cannon’s psychological thriller EXPOSURE has its World Premiere at the Newport Beach Film Festival on Tuesday, October 17 at 7:15PM PDT.
Years ago, Tanner (Douglas Smith; DON’T WORRY DARLING, Big Little Lies, Big Love) was kidnapped, tortured, and poisoned by an unknown assailant. After being inexplicably freed, he was left obsessed with the idea that his kidnapper was still out to get him. Day in and day out, Tanner’s compulsive checking to confirm that his house is secure and his food is safe to eat slowly erodes his relationship with his patient and caring wife, Nicole (Margo Harshman; NCIS, The Big Bang Theory, Even Stevens).
One day, Nicole hears that the man who assaulted Tanner was released from prison earlier than expected, and Tanner’s obsession spirals out of control. To save her marriage, Nicole forces him to face his fears head-on with exposure therapy, and ultimately to confront the fact that he’s experiencing obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD). Reluctant at first, he takes to it well—and perhaps to a frightening, dangerous level.
EXPOSURE was written and directed by Peter Cannon in his feature debut; producers are Jordan Michaud-Scorza and Tanner Sawitz; cinematographer is Michelle Kwong; and editor is Joel Jay Blacker. Cast includes Douglas Smith; Margo Harshman; Ryan Whitney; Abraham Rodriguez; Alex Feldman; Kevin McCorkle; Gary Poux; Chanel Minnifield; René Ashton; and Zachary Webber.
Cannon reveals, “I’ve dealt with obsessive compulsive disorder for over a decade. Over the years, the media has served up an oversimplified version of OCD to the average person—one that downplays the relentless terror that plagues 1% of the entire population. EXPOSURE takes the intricacies, nuances, and forms the disorder takes, and presents them in the way a sufferer all too often experiences it, so that those who don’t can better understand the experience. The story shows OCD in a few of its many incarnations, all with the unifying factor of a specific, repetitive, mind-consuming fear.”
“The ultimate goal for any sufferer of obsessions,” Cannon concludes, “is the acceptance of a difficult truth: their ‘worst fear’ can absolutely happen, and to keep living is to tolerate that. Underneath the suspense, drama, and horror, EXPOSURE is about a man who learns that clinging to safety can ruin his life just as much as any perceived threat could. It’s an idea that can make sense to anybody, but internalizing it is a steep ask for the average person, let alone someone tormented by this disorder.”
