The Devil Smokes (and Saves the Burnt Matches in the Same Box) () is a 2025 Mexican drama film co-written and directed by Ernesto Martínez Bucio.Guy Lodge, "‘The Devil Smokes (and Saves the Burnt Matches in the Same Box)’ Review: A Childhood Survival Story as Strange and Beguiling as Its Title". Variety, February 26, 2025.
The film centres on five siblings — Vanessa (Laura Uribe Rojas), Victor (Donovan Said), Elsa (Mariapau Bravo Avina), Marisol (Regina Alejandra) and Tomas (Rafael Nieto Martinez) — who are abandoned by their parents Judith (Micaela Gramajo) and Emiliano (Bernardo Gamboa), and must find ways to survive while in the care of their paranoid schizophrenic grandmother Romana (Carmen Ramos).Jonathan Holland, "’The Devil Smokes’ review: Potent Mexican debut tracks five siblings over a traumatic summer". Screen Daily, February 15, 2025.
The film premiered in February 2025 at the 75th Berlin International Film Festival. The film is scheduled to be released commercially on 23 April 2026, in Mexican theaters.
Critical response Jonathan Holland of Screen Daily wrote that "the formal experimentation of The Devil Smokes, is sometimes effective, sometimes not. It delivers most strongly in the oppressive atmospherics as Odei Zabaleta’s busy camera roams around the cluttered interiors of this shadowy house, taking us on a journey into a claustrophobic, dark little world from which we emerge, blinking and slightly traumatized, at the end."
For Variety, Guy Lodge wrote that "the singed sepia tones favored by Martínez Bucio and Zabaleta may recall sun-faded or ill-developed images from a family album, to the extent that some shots appear edged with film burn, but the effect isn’t one of warm nostalgia. Instead, there’s a vague end-of-days feel to the film’s parched, shadowy visuals, as Zabaleta’s prowling camera renders the layout of the home smaller with each passing minute. In so many such stories of children in crisis, the hovering presence of social services is presented as a threat; here, the authorities may well be letting the light in."
Awards Award Date of ceremony Category Recipient(s) Result Berlin International Film Festival 23 February 2025 GWFF Best First Feature Award Ernesto Martínez Bucio Peter Debruge, "‘Dreams (Sex Love)’ Wins the Berlin Film Festival, While ‘The Blue Trail’ Earns Grand Jury Prize". Variety, February 22, 2025. Hong Kong International Film Festival 21 April 2025 Best Director, Young Cinema Competition Liz Shackleton, "‘Black Ox’, ‘To Kill A Mongolian Horse' Take Top Honours In Hong Kong". Streamlined, April 21, 2025. New Horizons Film Festival 27 July 2025 Audience Award "Peruvian Film PUNKU by J.D. Fernández Molero Takes Grand Prix at New Horizons in Poland". Cinema Tropical, July 30, 2025. Festival du nouveau cinéma 8 October 2025 FIPRESCI Award for Best First Feature Film "Montreal's Festival du Nouveau Cinéma unveils its award winners". Cineuropa, October 21, 2025. Morelia International Film Festival 19 October 2025 Best Screenplay Karen Plata Anna Maria de la Fuente, "Pablo Pérez Lombardini’s Environmental Thriller ‘The Reserve’ Wins Top Ojo Prizes at the 23rd Morelia Film Festival". Variety, October 18, 2025.Ariel Awards3 October 2026Best PictureThe Devil Smokes (and Saves the Burnt Matches in the Same Box)Best First WorkBest DirectorErnesto Martínez BucioBest Supporting ActorBernardo GamboaBest Breakthrough PerformanceDonovan SaidLaura Uribe RojasBest Original ScreenplayErnesto Martínez Bucio, Karen PlataBest EditingErnesto Martínez Bucio, Karen Plata, Odei Zabaleta
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