Medical student Mariam is unhappy about her family’s situation: her grandfather’s death leaves her family saddled with debt and having to accept financial help from her sleazy uncle Nassir, and her mother, Fariha, is all too compliant. Then, a tragic accident occurs during Mariam’s trip to the beach with her boyfriend Asad, revealing the cursed fate of Mariam and her mother who must protect each other to survive. Recognized for his talent through the BIFF Asian Film Academy, the TIFF Talent Lab, and other programs, Zarrar Kahn skillfully weaves the present of a woman who faces unforeseen dangers while driving, talking on the phone in the balcony of her room, and even upon encountering people who show acts of kindness with the haunting shadows of oppression and violence from the past in this horror film. A joint Canadian-Pakistani production, In Flames was screened at Directors’ Fortnight in the 2023 Cannes Film Festival. (CHOI Eun)