“The Young Arsonists” by Canadian director Sheila Pye is a thrilling debut set in the shrivelled landscape of an isolated farm in the 1980s. The brilliantly casted group of four restless girls are glued together by a desire to escape their troubled lives. They reclaim a deserted farmhouse to call it home, sweet home.

Nobody better than the talented director herself to say what her marvellous debut is all about: “If men’s bodies synced up to each other the way women’s bodies do during menstruation, there would for centuries have been tales of great men to whom all other men synced up to.” Born and raised in Canada, Sheila Pye is an emerging talent to keep an eye on as a filmmaker after her impressive career as an acclaimed visual artist.

This outstanding debut with its incredible soundtrack premiered just two months ago at the most influential North American film festival in Toronto, so we’re especially proud to have this amazing film as an international premiere here at PÖFF.

Niki Nikitin