Everything we know about 'Black Burns Fast', the quirky queer coming-of-age comedy

After charming audiences during its celebrated festival run, including an international premiere at the 2026 Berlinale (Berlin International Film Festival) and closing BFI Flare’s 50th anniversary, visionary young Black queer filmmaker, Sandulela Asanda’s, debut feature Black Burns Fast hits local cinemas on 31 July.

Written by Asanda, the film is produced by the team behind the critically acclaimed Inxeba and This Is Not A Burial, It’s A Resurrection.

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Black Burns Fast is coming-of-age film set at a prestigious boarding school for girls. It follows 17-year-old Luthando, a high-achieving scholarship student whose world is turned upside down by the arrival of mysterious new student Ayanda. As Luthando navigates her burgeoning feelings, she struggles to juggle multiple identities, hoping to avoid rejection by her mother and schoolmates while coming to terms with her sexuality.

As an adolescent, Asanda experienced first-hand the lack of references to Black queer girls in the films and TV she watched and that absence shaped how she understood herself and her place in the world. “Now, I feel the urgency in giving young audiences the images and possibilities that I never had. There were no South African stories centered on two Black queer girls, so Black Burns fast aims to fill that gap by offering a Black lesbian love story that’s tender, awkward, joyful and messy, reflecting real adolescence”, she says. “It’s also a love letter to my younger self and to the girls I was friends with in high school. A celebration of Black joy. ”

Forsaking the angst and trauma of many queer coming-of-age films, Black Burns Fast is exuberant and hopeful with a playful freshness that reframes the queer experience towards self-celebration and joy. The filmmakers opted for a vibrant, quirky cinematic language that blends the structured world of a prestigious South African boarding school with a high-energy, Gen Z aesthetic. With gaming influences, dreamlike sequences, and a "chick-flick" sensibility, Black Burns Fast creates a first-of-its-kind genre hybrid for South Africa.

In the past six months, the film has screened at over 25 festivals across Europe, the US, Asia and Africa, its joyful energy and inventive style have thrilled critics and audiences alike. BuzzFeed gave the film a 4/5 rating, called Luthando an “authentic and loveable character” and praised how the cinematography perfectly captures "the isolation and struggles of being Black and queer while studying at a conservative boarding school."

Attitude Magazine described it as "a candy-coloured boarding school caper which elevates queer joy and whimsy, but underscored by bite and depth, while Richard Cline, writing for Shadows on the Wall, praised the film's "sassy humour, colourful sets and costumes, and videogame-style graphic flourishes."

Having travelled the international festival circuit for many years with her previous films before championing this one, producer Cait Pansegrouw says: “We want this film to serve as a beacon of validation, offering a cast of confident, singular characters who prove that the Black female experience is not a monolith or a site of struggle, but one of vibrant possibility, humour, and self-love. Ultimately, we will have succeeded if our audience walks out of the cinema feeling not just entertained but profoundly seen and celebrated for exactly who they are.”

The ensemble cast showcases South Africa’s most exciting new talents Esihle Ndleleni (Mapondoland, King Shaka Zulu), Muadi Ilung (Recipes for Love and Murder, The Power), Khensani Khoza (Mrs Mandela, Phindile's Heart), Ntsimedi Gwangwa (Safe House), and Basetsana Motloung (The Power, Love and Wine) and punk musician Mila Smith in her feature film debut.

The film is distributed in South Africa by Indigenous Film Distribution and Development.

See the trailer here