“You know people are gay, me being people.”
Can fitting in ever be simple? No matter where in the world, there is always something that interferes with others accepting people for who they are. In Sandulela Asanda’s feature-length directorial debut, these struggles take place in South Africa. Conservative culture, simple-mindedness, and tensions at school, these are only a small few of the difficulties young people face. You want to be yourself, but when you have spent so much of your life hidden, how do you know who you truly are?
At a prestigious all girls boarding school in South Africa, seventeen-year-old Luthando (Esihle Ndleleni) is set to finish her academic year off strong. All is going to plan until the arrival of new student, Ayanda (Muadi Ilung), causes a change in Luthando. From being the smart and well-behaved girl, she begins to rethink her entire identity. Being the school’s scholarship girl, Luthando has always kept her head down, gotten good grades, and followed the expectations set by her mother. Now that her world has been turned upside down, she struggles with juggling multiple identities. In order to avoid disappointing those around her, she must change her personality depending on who she is with, but this cannot last forever. She is eventually faced with the ultimate decision, to decide who she wants to be.
Asanda presents herself as a fresh new voice in cinema. With her stylistic choices combined with the emotional quality of a young girl, Black Burns Fast is confident and witty, just what you would hope for in a coming-of-age film. Filled with innocence and comedic style, the viewer is welcomed into the world. At times her ingenuity may not catch where it needs to, but the overall result leaves the audience touched.
Teenagers are never easy, for themselves or for their parents alike. Proven within her screenplay itself, Asanda very clearly understands this. Young and virtuous Luthando, through the talented portrayal of Ndleleni, changes ever so quickly in front of the audiences eyes. As soon as her interactions with Ayanda occur, everything changes. As elements grace the screen, Asanda creates a new way to look into the mind of a teenage girl. Imagination runs wild and we see what Luthando “sees”. Yet, things appear easier than they will be.
Within a story of love and prejudice, Black Burns Fast also reminds its audience how much relationships or infatuation can change a single person’s identity. Leaning into this is how Asanda takes the narrative into her own hands, properly representing young girls. Letting them run wild and free, dealing with the consequences when they come.
Discrimination, not in that specific term itself, hits Luthando as her grades begin to slip and she changes a bit too much for the normal teenage girl in South Africa. This is where the importance of stepping into the future comes. To help share a story of truth and being who you are with the younger audience, Asanda allows Luthando to learn about her situation. It is the power that comes from an original young girl, standing up for what she believes in. That is how we can overcome the hate and be who we are meant to be. One small change in ones life can cause a forever changed person.
After its world premiere in South Africa at the Durban International Film Festival in July 2025, Black Burns Fast graced the screens at Berlinale in February 2026. It is a beautiful and powerful debut feature-film from a talent one should keep their eyes on. With touching performances from its cast and a message for the world, Black Burns Fast is a charming and tender coming-of-age and queer film.