child wears a cowboy hat in a field at dusk
April 30, 2022 at 7:30 PM PT

The Time of the Fireflies

Directed by Matteo Robert Morales, Mattis Appelqvist Dalton  |  Mexico  |  52 min

Miguel left his family behind in Mexico 13 years ago. Now, trapped between his memories and his determination to provide, he struggles to forge a path in New York. Screens with Busan, 1999, and Fanmi. Total runtime 77 min.
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Description

The Time of the Fireflies

At 16, Miguel left Mexico to start a new life in New York City. Thirteen years later, his mother sends photos from home, leading him to reflect on his past, present, and future. Honest about where his journey has taken him, Miguel candidly shares his struggles and relates his longing for who and what he left behind. A strong visual flair complements and echoes Miguel’s state of mind in this moving tale of resilience and determination.

Trailer

“Coded

Biographies

Director Mattis Appelqvist Dalton

Danish filmmaker Mattis Appelqvist Dalton is also musician and composer, a jazz double bassist who was classically trained at the Conservatoire National de Musicque et Dance in his native Aurillac, France. He furthered his studies at the Reid School of Music, University of Edinburgh, Scotland. In 2020, he received his ScB in the Cognitive Neuroscience of Music from Brown University, writing his thesis on “Aberrations in time:  The effects of music-elicited emotions on time perception in film.” The Time of the Fireflies is his feature debut.

Director Matteo Robert Morales

Mexico native Matteo Robert Morales studied filmmaking at Ringling College of Art and Design in Florida and at Brussels’ Institut national supérieur des arts du spectacle et des techniques de diffusion (INSAS), where he concentrated on cinematography. He is also a photographer and has worked as a camera assistant and director of photography. He was the puppet video technician on Leos Carax’s Annette (2021). He makes his writing/directing debut with The Time of the Fireflies.