[Fantasia International Film Festival]: Burning

Aysanat Edigeeva as Asel

Having had its North American premiere at this year’s Fantasia International Film Festival, the Kyrgyzstanian horror Burning directed by Radik Eshimov is a deeply unsettling and emotional examination of grief, the effects of small town gossip and the complicitness of silence. 

After the tragic death of their young child, Asel (Aysanat Edigeeva) and her husband Marat (Ömürbek Izrailov) are the subject of community gossip after a fire burns down their house. With the villagers gathering post-fire to discuss what circumstances could have led to this terrible event, whispers abound about Marat’s mother Farida (Kalicha Seydalieva) possibly having been a practitioner of black magic, Asel’s fragile fractioning psyche and Marat’s treatment of his wife. 

Marat (Ömürbek Izrailov)

Split into three sections in which three different points of views are presented, Burning starts off with an occult-tinged telling of Asel’s experience with her mother-in-law. Desperate to welcome Farida into the house, Asel begins to experience strange phenomena that she believes is tied to her mother-in-law’s desire to take control of not only the household, but also Asel's unborn child. In the second segment, we circle back to see the situation from Marat’s eyes. His wife since the death of their child has changed wildly, and his suspicions begin to mount as he investigates the belief that she may be possessed by a jinn. Lastly, Farida is the central pov, as she witnesses the relationship of her son and his wife, and the downfall that leads to the fire being ignited. 

Asel (Aysanat Edigeeva)

With an ingenious approach to story-telling, Burning is at all times harrowing, particularly when the pieces of the narration are put together and audiences realise the truth. Beyond the supernatural elements, the film reveals that sometimes, it is the truth of life that can occur behind closed doors that is the real horror. The performance of each key character, particularly Aysanat Edigeeva as Asel, is the true strength of the film, bringing to life a chilling reality that many deal with, particularly in communities where gendered violence is permitted to occur due to people staying silent, and choosing to turn a blind eye. 

Poignant and devastating, Burning is a disturbing tale told in thirds of the darkness of grief, as well as the violence of silence. 

5 Screams out of 5