As California barrels into yet another brutal wildfire season, Big Rock Burning is turning heads on the international stage. The documentary — which was recently shopped to distributors at the Cannes Film Festival — doesn’t hold back in exposing just how unprepared Los Angeles was when fast-moving firestorms tore through Malibu, Pacific Palisades, Topanga, and beyond.
Directed by Conscious Contact CEO David Goldblum, the film zeroes in on the catastrophic Palisades and Eaton Fires, both of which ignited on January 7 under extreme Santa Ana winds. The Palisades Fire alone was consuming ground at a staggering pace of five football fields per minute, ultimately torching over 60 square miles — an area larger than San Francisco. As flames closed in, official resources collapsed: fire hydrants ran dry, communications systems broke down, and multiple warnings issued by scientists and fire officials in the weeks leading up to the disaster went unheeded.
“People are grieving, but they also want accountability,” Goldblum said in a statement. “How was a city like Los Angeles so catastrophically unprepared for something we were warned about again and again?”
Goldblum, who narrowly escaped the flames himself, began filming almost immediately, capturing raw and emotional stories of survival, devastation, and the public’s growing outrage at the massive institutional failures. Over two dozen fire-impacted residents contributed firsthand accounts, including several of the film’s producers who lost homes in the fires.
The documentary also highlights those who filled the leadership void as county agencies faltered. Former Los Angeles County Sheriff Alex Villanueva appears in the film, offering a candid insider view of the paralysis and political dysfunction inside county leadership during the crisis. Also featured is Aaron T. Jones, CEO of IPS Global — a private security and emergency response company that became a critical lifeline for many Malibu and Topanga residents as the fires raged. IPS Global units were actively patrolling neighborhoods, assisting with evacuations, and providing security when county resources were overwhelmed. In the years since, Jones has expanded IPS into wildfire detection and aerial response capabilities to help fill the gaping holes in government preparedness.
Big Rock Burning doesn’t just chronicle another climate disaster — it exposes a crisis of leadership, bureaucracy, and accountability. With over 600,000 acres already burned in California this year, the film’s message couldn’t be more urgent — or more damning.
The project is produced by Goldblum and James Costa (The Dating Game, Welcome to Chechnya) through Costa’s Bird Street Productions. Co-producers include Jyoti Drummond, Colin Drummond, and Wade Major, who — like so many in the film — lost their homes in the fires. Additional financial support came from the Around The Table Foundation. Goldblum’s recent producing credits include Grassland (executive produced by Common), Sell/Buy/Date (executive produced by Meryl Streep), and Uvalde Mom, which premiered at SXSW.
Now in post-production, Big Rock Burning is being fast-tracked for distribution following its Cannes market debut. As California heads into yet another record-breaking fire season, the film stands as both a warning and an indictment of a system still dangerously unprepared.
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