“Firecrackers” will be set off in U.S. theaters. Jasmin Mozaffari’s feature debut has secured distribution stateside from Good Deed Entertainment, Deadline confirms. The female-led coming-of-age drama made its world premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival in September to strong reviews.
Based on Mozaffari’s 2013 short of the same name, “Firecrackers” tells the story of Lou (Michaela Kurimsky, “Bedtime Stories for Men”) and Chantal (Karena Evans, “Mary me mata”), best friends desperate to leave their isolated hometown behind and move to a city together. “When Chantal’s unstable and possessive ex violates her during a night of partying, the girls decide to exact their revenge on him through a night of vandalism and debauchery,” the source summarizes. “The consequences of their actions are devastating, threatening the girls’ chances of ever leaving.”
“I’ve always been drawn to exploring the idea of freedom, or the lack thereof, especially when it comes to women. However, in the feature, I wanted to look at how both men and women are affected by these ideas of masculinity, femininity, and sexuality, and how patriarchal ideas keep all of us feeling trapped and have held us back from truly feeling free,” Mozaffari told us.
“The best advice I received in filmmaking was actually from one of my favorite filmmakers, Kelly Reichardt,” she revealed. “She came to speak at my film school to a small group of students and alumni. My editor and I had spent many months in the edit for ‘Firecrackers,’ and at this point in time, I felt like I had lost some perspective,” she recalled. “I asked Kelly what she does if she ever faces this challenge. She told me to let the film be ‘bad’ for a while — try not to rush through the edit in a panic to make something good. She said it was important to take as much time as you needed in the edit so you can try as many things as possible, and in that process you can discover moments you wouldn’t have otherwise. She also told me to watch the film on different screens and in different spaces.”
Prowler Film’s Caitlin Grabham and Wildling Pictures’ Kristy Neville produced the pic. Mozaffari penned the script.
“Firecrackers” will continue screening on the festival circuit before making its way to theaters in 2019. An exact release date hasn’t been announced yet.
