The Moths & the Flame

Over one year, Kevin accompanies a group of young men in Pahokee, Florida, a small community marked by agriculture and rabbit hunting. He has been friends with them since they were children and has, like them, recently become a father. Whether in the kitchen or the laundromat, this is filming as giving and taking. In calmly shot vignettes full of solidarity, the everyday lives, thoughts and dreams of Black fathers become visible, interwoven with the spiritual poems they recite. Lines from Farid-ud-Din Attar’s Sufi parable “The Moths and the Flame”, for example, whose message is that true insight isn’t reached through talking or thinking, but rather by total dedication. Contento thus bathes the sugar cane plantations in golden light, shows Pahokee in wide shots and elevates it to a place of enlightenment. A free, poetic form of cinematic language that takes time to observe children’s birthdays and housework alike and contradicts the myth of the absent Black father on a day-to-day basis. Accompanied by the wistful, mystical compositions by legendary hip hop producer 4th Disciple, The Moths & the Flame becomes an intense, very much optimistic viewing experience. (Carolin Weidner)

Kevin Contento is a Colombian-American filmmaker who was born in Plantation, Florida, in 1990. His second feature film The Moths & the Flame is making its World Premiere at the Berlinale Forum. Contento’s filmography combines documentary, narrative, and experimental narrative techniques. He draws inspiration from Sufi parables and combines them with the experience of living in Florida.

Director Kevin Contento. Cinematography Claribel Tejeda. Editing Kevin Contento. Music 4th Disciple. Producers Kevin Contento, Edward Lee. Executive Producers Breven Warren, Kevin Contento, Ale Marie Odriozola, Tim Udall. With Jean Voltaire, Malik Hall, Wiltavious McKelton, Tavion Jamal Dent, Helen Contento, Willy.

Films: 2018: Hierophany (short film). 2021: The Conference of the Birds. 2022: From Fish to Moon (short documentary, Berlinale Shorts 2023). 2024: Ask a Punk (short film). 2026: The Moths & the Flame.