The Festival’s flagship section, gutsy cinema that breaks new ground
ARGENTINA | 95 minutes | 2015
In only 24 hours, Lucia and Marcelo will be moving into their dream home. Since they’re due to sign the next day, the couple has to hide the $100,000 required to finalize the deal in their apartment. But money is the main bone of contention in their relationship, and the tension mounts between Lucia and Marcelo to the point where their life together is at risk. Oddly enough, their aggression towards one another seems to fuel their mutual attraction. For his second feature, Juan Schnitman (Grande para la ciudad) strives for an atmosphere of simmering violence in this combustive story of two adults who express their emotions through bitterness and resentment. Framing his characters in tight close-ups to intensify the pressure they exert on each other, the Argentine filmmaker delivers an impassioned work that climaxes in a dinner among friends where unrelenting cheap shots are on the menu. Named best film at the Buenos Aires International Independent Film Festival, The Fire hits audiences where it hurts. This is a film sure to leave its mark.
was born in the city of Buenos Aires in 1980.He spent his childhood in the country and returned to the city in the 90 ?s, where he studied Film Direction at the Universidad del Cine (FUC). Once graduated, he co-wrote and co-directed El Amor (primera parte) with Santiago Mitre, Alejandro Fadel and Marti?n Mauregui in 2005. The film premiered at the Venice Film Festival’s Settimana Internazionale della Critica. In 2007 Juan made Grande Para la Ciudad, a documentary about the Uruguayan Brit-pop band Astroboy. In 2009 he shot Pretemporada, a documentary about soccer. El Incendio is his fiction, solo debut.
Sign-up for our newsletter to get all the latest Festival news!