Exploring a unique connection between a gifted student and his college professor, Before the World Set on Fire presents a darkly complex character study that probes the delicate relationship between intellectual discovery, human intimacy and trauma. The story takes place during a university-wide lockdown at a small liberal arts college due to a contagion whose origins remain a mystery. The bulk of this is revealed through a tense philosophy seminar in which Professor Anya Davis leads a group of fiery undergraduates over video-chat.

Director Jaclyn Bethany chooses to eschew traditional filmic structures, opting instead for a slow reveal of the seminar in its entirety, interspersed with the internal investigation and suspicion that follows its fateful conclusion. The film touches on plot-points of contamination, isolation and scientific catastrophe without dwelling too deeply into its all-too familiar real world counterpart. Instead, it reveals an understated yet suspenseful examination of human psychology and yearning in its myriad forms. -Stephanie Tell, NOFF Programmer

Community Partner: In Ceremony Productions