In Flames

A social portrait with a thrilling edge: Mother Fahria and daughter Mariam fight against Pakistan’s patriarchal power structures and the demons of their own family history.

Mariam lives with her mother and younger brother in a small flat in Karachi. After the death of her grandfather, his manipulative brother Nazir takes over the role of provider. To escape her oppressive everyday life at home, Mariam starts going on more and more dates with her fellow student Asad. After a serious traffic accident, events spin themselves around Mariam like a fine web. It literally takes her breath away, but also brings her closer to her mother. - With this mother-daughter story, director Zarrar Kahn vividly shows us the harrowing social reality of women in Pakistan. Borrowing elements from horror films, he finds innovative ways of representing the psychological and physical wounds of the two protagonists. He thus offers the viewer a portrait, at once exciting and full of empathy, of the inner lives of his characters.

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