THE DEVIL SMOKES

Director Ernesto Martínez Bucio and co-writer Karen Plata available for interviews.

THE DEVIL SMOKES (El Diablo Fuma) by writer-director Ernesto Martínez Bucio is world premiering at the International Film Festival Berlin 2025 in the new Perspectives section. The drama is the first feature film by Ernesto Martínez Bucio whose successful short films premiered at Cannes, San Sebastián, and Rotterdam.

THE DEVIL SMOKES is a journey back into the magical world of childhood. With a distinctive artistic vision, rare intimacy and a poetic nuance, the film portrays sibling relationships and the formation of fear passed on from generation to another.

SYNOPSIS
Mexico City, mid-90s. After the sudden disappearance of their parents, five siblings are left in the care of their grandmother. As they struggle to survive, the line between reality and something darker begins to blur. The grandmother, tormented by strange visions and rising fears, grows more distant, while the children’s grip or their own perceptions starts to unravel. Following a violent confrontation with their neighbors, the siblings retreat further into isolation, cutting them off from the outside world.

Ernesto Martínez Bucio born in Uruapan, Mexico, in 1983 is a film director, screenwriter, and editor who holds a BA in Communication Sciences from ITESO, a BA in Filmmaking from CCC, and an MA in Filmmaking from EQZE. His short films – El Futuro (2019), Las Razones del Mundo (2016), La Madre (2012), Cenizas (2011) – have premiered at prestigious festivals, including Cannes’ Cinéfondation, Cairo, San Sebastián, and Rotterdam. He has received two grants from the National Fund for Culture and the Arts and is an alumnus of Berlinale Talents.

THE DEVIL SMOKES features Mariapau Bravo Aviña, Rafael Nieto Martínez, Regina Alejandra, Laura Uribe Rojas, Donovan Said, Carmen Ramos, Micaela Gramajo, and Bernardo Gamboa.

THE DEVIL SMOKES is produced by Carlos Hernández Vázquez, Gabriela Gavica, and Alejandro Durán at Mandarina Cine (Mexico), with the support of the Mexican Film Institute(IMCINE), the State of Jalisco, the State of Guanajuato, the Gabriel Figueroa Film Fund, the Elías Querejeta Zine Eskola, and EAVE Puentes.

Production Company:
Mandarina Cine
+52 55 9052 6374
Carlos Hernández
carloshernan@mandarinacine.com
Gabriela Gavica
gabygavica@mandarinacine.com
www.mandarinacine.com

©/CREDITS:

Stills: © Bendita Film Sales