Sunburn feels like homes I’ve been in before, sweet soft serve I’ve tasted, and moments I remember from long ago. Its saturated colours and vibrant visual style represents Black and racialized folks with a sense of respectful reverence and beauty, melanin celebrated and embraced. The heightened sensory experience of summer is on display here from the fun kind - drippy ice cream, vibrant popsicles, the perfect colour freezie- to the not so fun - stinky sweat, sticky blood, and burning heat.
This coming-of-age film follows four separate pairs of young friends over one hot summer day in St James Town, Toronto. We spend the most time with Shay (Joshua Obra) and Vince (Dashawn Blackwood) as they reckon with getting older while holding tightly to the familiar - their favourite cash-only spots, the well-trodden roads, and the entertaining cast of characters that have surrounded their whole lives.
The cinematography is sublime. To see Black and racialized folks represented on screen with such vibrancy moved me to tears. I was reminded of how infrequent this experience still is. All shades of brown are treated with reverence and beauty, curls abound, skin glistening. The tears overflowed.
I would classify this film as a dramedy, as while it spends most of its time with its comedic notes, the drama at its centre is its heart. It’s funny as hell (and leans into the sometimes gross aspects of being a teen with stomach-turning focus), and also effectively deals with the serious subject matter (queerness, grief, and so much more) with consideration and depth in it’s limited run time. The humour is also very Toronto, something only someone who’s lived it could replicate. I could easily imagine many people from my childhood making the same jokes, using the same slang, having the same conversations.
If I closed my eyes, it felt like it could just as easily have taken place in a neighbourhood like Scarborough (my hometown) as St James Town. These are the places that when you share that you’ve grown up there, you are often met with an uninformed shudder, off-colour jokes about safety and violence, your listener’s ignorant fear on full display. There are multiple stunning extended sequences in this film where the beauty of youth and joy of summer in the city are displayed with such detail and reverence. It once again moved me to tears to see a neighbourhood and communities such as this showcased with such love and tenderness; to show the humanity, humour, hopes and dreams of the people who live there.
Sunburn feels like a love letter to Toronto summers. Whether you grew up in a neighbourhood like this or not, this film has a genius ability to capture the messy experience of growing up. It reminded me of hot summers where a white freezie felt like you won the lottery, roaming around was the mark of a good day, and you were with the ones you love, time expanding endlessly ahead. Director Serville Poblete has crafted an absolute gem here. Sunburn is an absolute must-watch.
Support our work
You can subscribe to the OBSCURAE newsletter for free, or become a paid Aficionado for £5/month to help fund independent coverage, contributor fees, site hosting, and admin costs.