When his light comes on . . .

It was as assured and self-actualized a debut as any in recent movie history: In 2003, Vadim Perelman catapulted from the relative anonymity of directing car and tire commercials to become the talk of Hollywood with his first feature film, "House of Sand and Fog" -- a heartbreaking work of raw emotion and catharsis that almost no one expected from a filmmaker with his limited professional pedigree.

But then, as quickly as the Kiev native had staked his claim as an Auteur to Watch, Perelman fell out of the limelight. Five years would pass before he released another film, "The Life Before Her Eyes," an adaptation of the Laura Kasischke novel, which went into limited theatrical release on Friday.

In the interim, Perelman has seen no fewer than eight projects fall by the wayside -- among them, a Steven Spielberg-produced adaptation of the Stephen King-Peter Straub novel "The Talisman" and a big screen blowup of Lois Lowry's young adult euthanasia novel "The Giver" to be produced by Jeff Bridges' ASIS production company.

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From the 'Fog'

Although Perelman admits the many ups and downs are not the most streamlined methodology imaginable, he remains steadfast about his "process" of making films: finding a book he can envisage as a film, optioning the material with his own money, adapting it (usually before any producer has agreed to come on board) and then taking his lumps in order to get the thing made (or not).

"For me, it's never a conscious plan about what I want to do," Perelman said over a recent breakfast. "I don't have a plan. I just go with the material."

The moviemaking creation myth of this 44-year old Venice local famously begins with his optioning and helping to adapt "House of Sand and Fog" (before it became an Oprah's Book Club selection), Andre Dubus III's bleak bestselling novel about a depressive divorcee and a deposed Iranian colonel on a collision course to claim ownership of a house in Northern California.

Then, through a combination of force of will and Perelman's fine-tuned literary sensibilities, the writer-director coaxed career-defining performances from his stars Jennifer Connelly, Ben Kingsley and Shoreh Aghdashloo.

A spate of award season props followed suit, including Oscar nominations for Kingsley and Aghdashloo and an Independent Spirit Award nomination for best first feature.

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Obstacle course