Writer’s block, or the inability to write, to develop the story you desire to, is a film cliché. Leon, a young writer,  does not attempt to sidestep the stereotype. When he accompanies photographer Felix to his holiday home by the Baltic Sea, he wants nothing more than to devote himself to his manuscript and everything that is not his work annoys him. Nadja, a new acquaintance, causes a stir, and her openness bruises Leon’s egocentrism. Her boyfriend, the beach lifeguard David, is physically attractive and his lack of self-criticism makes the writer lose his composure. Soon the forests along the coast are engulfed by fires and the flames creep ever closer… What was that saying about burning manuscripts?

The viewer will experience the relationship between these characters in the carefree height of summer as a poignant, psychological mystery about feelings. Following the mythologically urban story Undine (2020), this sequel in Petzold’s classic trilogy charts the territory of self-love: how much do we love ourselves for who we could be? What would we be willing to do if we are not good at what we do? Afire won the Jury Prize at the Berlinale and is an intelligent piece of visual literature that deals with the tragedy of weak male characters in a measured and careful way, turning it into a tragicomedy. Alongside it unfolds a tragedy of the self-sufficient, which is reflected in the character of Nadja, played by Paula Beer.

This film is screened as part of a cooperation with Lācis, lauva un zars.