The coming-of-age drama about a strange teenager with a disturbing passion for starting fires – yes, literally – makes its highly anticipated North American premiere this weekend.
“All the Lights” (or “Todos los Incendios”), written and directed by Mauricio Calderon Rico, will screen Sunday as part of NewFest, New York’s premier LGBTQ+ film festival. The film, in Spanish with subtitles, will also be available to stream online until October 24, before the end of the festival.
“All the Lights” is about Bruno (played by Sebastian Rojano), a Mexican teenager who develops an obsession with uploading videos of himself setting objects on fire following the death of his father.
While his widowed mother develops feelings for a new man, Bruno runs away from home in search of a girl he communicates with online, Dani (Natalia Quiroz).
Watch the trailer for “All the Lights” below.
Although Bruno initially imagines himself in a romantic relationship with Dani, a trip out of town prompts him to make a startling discovery about his sexual orientation.
While it may be unusual to place a young character with pyromaniacal tendencies at the center of a heartfelt drama, Calderon Rico believes that audiences will have no problem empathizing with Bruno throughout the film.
“I think we’ve all felt vulnerable in some way, especially as teenagers, and we need to use an outlet to let out all our repressed desires,” the director told HuffPost. “In some cultures, fire symbolizes lust, desire, libido. These are the instincts that Bruno suppresses and releases.”
The overriding message of “All Lights,” he added, can be summed up in one word: acceptance.
“The character not only embraces her sexuality, but also embraces mourning and generally embraces adulthood,” he said.
All the Lights is one of many outstanding films to be screened at NewFest, now in its 35th year. The festival opened Thursday with a star-studded screening of the Netflix film “Rustin,” in which Colman Domingo plays civil rights pioneer Bayard Rustin.
Other NewFest highlights include “Queen of New York,” a documentary about Marty J. Cummings turned New York City politician, and Todd Haynes’ “December in May,” starring Julianne Moore and Natalie Portman.
The festival will conclude on October 24 with the romantic drama We Are All Strangers, starring Paul Mescal and Andrew Scott.
More information about All the Fires and NewFest can be found here.