About the Film:
The Devil Smokes (and Saves the Burnt Matches in the Same Box) (2025) — Directed by Ernesto Martínez Bucio | Mexico | Drama | 97 mins | Spanish | Toronto Premiere
When their mother, Judith (Micaela Gramajo), vanishes one summer night, five children are left to fend for themselves. Their father, Emiliano (Bernardo Gamboa), sets off to find her, leaving them under the care of their grandmother Romana (Carmen Ramos) — whose fragile mental state soon turns their home into a place of confusion, fear, and whispered secrets.
As eldest siblings Victor (Donovan Said) and Vanessa (Laura Uribe Rojas) struggle to hold the family together, their grandmother’s strange warnings about evil spirits blur the line between reality and delusion.
With breathtaking cinematography and an emotionally rich narrative, Bucio crafts an atmospheric and deeply unsettling portrait of childhood shaped by loss, schizophrenia, and superstition. The result is a poetic, mysterious, and unforgettable meditation on what it means to grow up amid instability and fear.
With Short Film:
Semillas (Seeds) — Directed by Esteban Powell, Francisca Rojas & Ruben Dario Chavez-Munoz | 2024 | Canada | Documentary | 11 mins | English & Spanish
Semillas explores the “1.5 generation” of Latin American migrants uprooted in their formative years. Through split-screen storytelling, it reflects on displacement, belonging, and how identity takes root in new soil — even when memories of home never fade.
About the Director:
Ernesto Martínez Bucio (b. 1983, Uruapan, Mexico) is a filmmaker, screenwriter, and editor known for his poetic visual storytelling and deeply psychological themes. His short films have screened at major festivals including Cannes Cinéfondation, San Sebastián, Cairo, and Rotterdam.
A graduate of ITESO, CCC, and EQZE/UPV, Bucio is a Berlinale Talents alumnus and a two-time recipient of Mexico’s National Fund for Culture and the Arts. The Devil Smokes marks his most ambitious feature to date, merging realism with haunting, spiritual undertones.
Date & Time:
Sunday, October 26, 2025
📍 CAMH Auditorium, 1025 Queen Street West, Toronto
🕖 Box Office Opens: 7:00 PM
🎥 Film Starts: 8:30 PM
Tickets:
🎫 Get Tickets
💰 Included with Rendezvous with Madness Festival Pass
Accessibility:
The CAMH Auditorium is fully accessible.
