Todos los incendios (All the Fires): Thursday, March 27. 18:30 hrs

Mexican director Mauricio Calderón’s All The Fires (Todos los incendios, 2023) explores the uncertainty and complexity of youth in a way many other films struggle to grasp.

For grieving teenager Bruno, the fires he lights and the movies he creates for others feel like the only things he has control over. His social media channels of his pyromaniac adventures are his only real passion. His best friend Ian has a crush on him. But does Bruno feel the same? There’s no doubting the chemistry between them but Bruno is a closed book, and while he occasionally teases Ian with the possibility of sex, he clings to his straight identity and a girl he has only met online.

The film defies the standard trajectory of the LGBTQ+ coming-of-age, coming-out movie, ditching simple clichés. Is Bruno gay, bisexual or just exploring himself and those around him? We are never sure, and it really doesn’t matter when compared to the more significant issue of unresolved grief, anger and burning confusion he carries. Every character in the film is travelling through their own messy adolescence, looking for answers from others while learning that the answers they seek are held inside themselves.

All The Fires ultimately understands the heat of teenage life, the blaze of desire and the inferno of grief, offering us a movie that defies expectations from the outset.

Trailer: https://youtu.be/irWpnJDvb3Y?si=Rm49HeV5jWibpxV9

WHEN: Thursday, March 27
WHERE: Consulate General of Mexico - 25/F Hopewell Centre, Wan Chai
Rating: 15+

Synopsis:
It seems like the only things Bruno can control are the fires he starts. He is still grieving his father’s unexpected death, his mother has started a new relationship, and his best friend seems to have a crush on him. Confused and conflicted, Bruno escapes the city in search of a girl he met online. Although Bruno initially wants to pursue a romantic relationship with this alluring stranger, she ends up forcing him to confront the grief and pain he has been avoiding and address his burgeoning sexual identity. Writer-director Mauricio Calderón Rico paints a fittingly slow-burning portrait of young adulthood, queer identity, and lingering loss, in which the raging flame of adolescence is not just metaphorical.

AWARDS AND NOMINATIONS:
2023 Sao Paulo International Film Festival - Best New Director (nominated)
2023 Locarno Film Festival - Golden Leopard (nominated)
2023 Morelia International Film Festival - Best Picture (nominated)
2023 Morelia International Film Festival - Best Actor (winner)
2023 OUTShine Film Festival - Best Film (nominated)
Official Selection 2023 New York LGBTQ+ Film Festival

Free entrance. Complimentary popcorn.