Seventeen-year-old scholarship student Luthando returns to another year at her prestigious South African Boarding school only to have her entire world upended by the arrival of a cute new student, Ayanda.
When it comes to teen comedies, most of the beats are familiar. The nerdy overachiever, the mean girls, the new student who everyone is intrigued by. But Black Burns Fast isn’t just your typical teen rom-com because it is delightfully bright, earnest, and queer. Luthando isn’t just a scholarship student at a prestigious school; she is being raised by a single mother and feels the pressure many children feel from their parents to be and do more. She has spent her teenage years completely devoted to learning and school. On top of that, Luthando hasn’t fully realized her own sexuality yet. As the two girls embark on a secret romance, and Luthando opens up in ways she never thought she could, school, friends, and the real world intrude on the beautiful bubble the two girls have built together.
Written and directed by Sandulela Asanda, Black Burns Fast isn’t trying to reinvent the wheel; it’s just painting the wheel bright colors and making it queer. Asanda brings a distinct style to her filmmaking, fun graphics, doodles, and sometimes even whimsical handmade visuals to create Luthando’s world. The script is sharp and funny, understanding the teen rom-com genre while at times offering biting commentary. Asanda also avoids some of the common ideas of how female teens are presented. It would have been easy to fall into the trope of pitting girls against one another, but instead, Asanda wisely turns it into empowerment. Every character has strengths and flaws, making them relatable and real. These girls make mistakes because they’re teenagers, and that’s what teenagers do. It’s messy and real, just like being a young adult.
If I had one criticism of the story, it would be that, since this is so firmly Luthando’s perspective, some of the side characters are not as fleshed out as they could be. Even Ayanda is not quite as fleshed out as Luthando. However, this also heightens the idea that we are in Luthando’s story. We are watching everything through her lens, and what is being a teenager if not also being a bit self-centered? Spending more time to give some depth to the connection between Luthando and Ayanda would have been welcome.
The strength of this film lies very much with Esihle Ndleleni’s honest, warm, and hilarious performance as Luthando. She is utterly charming to watch onscreen and has natural chemistry with virtually everyone she is in a scene with. Where the performances are strong throughout the entire film, she stands out with her effortless portrayal.
While it doesn’t shy away from racism, classicism, or prejudice against LGBTQIA+ individuals, at its core, this coming-of-age story is one of joy. Black Burns Fast is a celebration of being young and being queer. In a sea of releases that can, at times, lean towards the more bleak, it’s nice to have a film that just brings a smile to your face.
Black Burns Fast, making its North American debut, is presented as part of the 52nd Seattle International Film Festival, running from May 7th through May 17th, 2026. See https://www.siff.net/festival for more.