It’s just a burning thought, It’s Just a Burning Thought

It’s Just a Burning Thought follows a faceless woman on a quiet, intentional journey of release. Cradling a sheeted pillow — a symbol of lingering thoughts — she moves through shifting landscapes, from desert rain to a river, carrying its familiar weight. Edited in negative, her ghostly figure becomes a symbol of transition. In the final act, she buries the pillow, yet a flickering fire remains. The film is a meditation on what we carry and what we let go — an abstract ritual of surrender. By removing identity and narrative specifics, it invites personal reflection on memory, loss, and transformation.

Firas Ben Ali is a non-binary artist and filmmaker hailing from southern Tunisia, based in Tunis. After studying interior design in 2020, they are currently pursuing a Master’s in Writing and Film Directing at ESAC Gammarth. Firas constructs a universe where vulnerability and personal rituals — such as makeup, dreams, and hand-drawn gestures — become tools for survival and connection. Working with digital, analog, and collage techniques, their visual language is deeply personal and often layered with handwritten notes or raw textures. Their directorial debut, Their Issue is the Feminine Gender Expression, was screened at festivals including Thessaloniki International Film Festival, Hamburg International Queer Film Festival, and Point Doc Film Festival in 2022. As a photographer, Firas explores themes of emotion, dreams, and human relationships, exhibiting their series I See Her at the JAOU Festival in 2022. 

School: School of Audiovisual and Cinema Arts in Gammarth