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The Moths & the Flame

Forum 2026
© Kevin Contento
Over one year, Kevin Contento 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 is not 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.

Trailer/Film Excerpt

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by Kevin Contento (Director)
with Jean Voltaire, Malik Hall, Wiltavious McKelton, Tavion Jamal Dent, Helen Contento, Willy USA 2026 English 97' Colour World premiere | Documentary form

With

  • Jean Voltaire
  • Malik Hall
  • Wiltavious McKelton
  • Tavion Jamal Dent
  • Helen Contento
  • Willy

Crew

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

Photos

Kevin Contento

© Carolina Porras Monroy

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.

Filmography

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; documentary

Bio- & filmography as of Berlinale 2026