Mexico, the 1990s. When both parents disappear, five children are left in the care of their grandmother, a superstitious woman terrified that the devil might slip into the house. Her visions stir the children’s already vivid imaginations, and after a strange encounter with the neighbors, they decide to cut themselves off entirely from the outside world. Winner of the Berlinale’s debut film program Perspektive Deutsches Kino, this tender yet claustrophobic work flirts with the horror genre. Drawing on Mexican folklore and myth, the director tells a haunting story of the harsh reality faced by abandoned children.
November 5 - 22
2026
Open Borders
View schedule
The Devil Smokes (and Saves the Burnt Matches in the Same Box)
1 hr. 37 min. | Drama, Comedy | Pegi 13
- Languages
- Spanish, English
- Subtitles
- Lithuanian, English
- Original title
- El diablo fuma (y guarda las cabezas de los cerillos quemados en la misma caja)
- Produced
- 2025: Mexico
