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Source: Courtesy of Urban Sales

‘If We Don’t Burn, How Do We Light Up The Night’

EXCLUSIVE: Paris-based Urban Sales has acquired international sales rights to Costa Rican filmmaker Kim Torres’ debut feature If We Don’t Burn, How Do We Light Up The Night which is set to world premiere in the New Directors competition at the upcoming San Sebastian International Film Festival (SSIFF).

Set in a rural village, the film blends supernatural and thriller elements to tell the story of a young girl who learns the village to which she has moved hides a dark secret that preys on the women she loves most. It expands on Torres’ short film Night Light, about a 13-year-old girl who feels trapped in her new blended family. It played in Cannes’ Film Festival’s short film competition in 2022, for which Torres was the first Costa Rican director to be selected. 

If We Don’t Burn, How Do We Light Up The Night is produced by Costa Rica’s Noche Negra Producciones, with Mexico’s Tropical Films, and France’s Les Films du Clan. The project has passed through a raft of development platforms, including WIP Latam at San Sebastián, La Fabrique Cinémas du Monde at Cannes, and TorinoFilmLab Next.  

“This powerful debut carries the grace of childhood while confronting the realities of violence in a way that feels utterly fresh and necessary,” said Urban Sales’ sales and acquisitions manager Garance Targowla. 

Urban Sales’ Toronto slate also includes CGI animation Space Cadet,  French romantic comedy The Doll starring Vincent Macaigne and Cécile de France, Gabe Klinger’s comedy drama Isabel, produced by Brazil’s RT Features, and Valentine Cadic’s Olympic Games-set comedy That Summer In Paris. 

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