Set against the backdrop of a seaside town threatened by encroaching wildfires, Christian Petzold’s latest is a breezy, often funny, yet emotionally layered melodrama of creative and romantic insecurities along the German Riviera. The film centers around Leon (Thomas Schubert), a disgruntled novelist struggling to finish his manuscript while traveling with his photographer friend (Langston Uibel) to a vacation home near the Baltic Sea, where they’re met by an unexpected third house guest, Nadja (Paula Beer; Undine, Transit), whose presence distracts Leon as much as it cringingly exposes his self-obsessed bubble. Full of sunkissed tints and nocturnal blues, Afire finds the director operating with a deceptively light touch, but what starts as a hangout comedy gradually opens up into something entirely more surprising and psychologically complex. Winner of the Silver Bear Grand Jury Prize at the 2023 Berlin International Film Festival. A Sideshow and Janus Films release.

For $30, receive one ticket to Afire and a select menu item at Café Paradiso, located in FLC’s Elinor Bunin Munroe Film Center. Learn more about our Dinner + Movie combo here.