It is hard for the audience not to think of the famous The Lovin’ Spoonful lyrics “hot town, summer in the city. Back of my neck getting’ dirt and gritty” when watching Serville Poblete’s charming sun-kissed debut feature Sunburn . One can feel the beads of sweat trickling down the necks of the youth at the centre of the film.

Taking place over the course of a sweltering day within Toronto’s St. James high rise community, where a blackout has killed all wifi, Poblete’s film follows three pairs of young people as they try to stay cool outside. Seeking things to cure their collective boredom, they all navigate moments of connection, silliness, sadness, insecurity, and the many changes littered along the path to adulthood.

The central duo, who pulls the film’s interweaving threads together, are Shay (Joshua Orba) and Vince (Dashawn Lloyd Blackwood). Longtime friends, they share the type of bond where one can pop the other’s pimple without much fuss. However, in Poblete’s playful hands such an act is even more disgusting than one can imagine.

When not cracking jokes or teasing Shay’s younger sister Cecilia aka Cee Cee (Arianna Shannon), the duo roam around the neighbourhood discussing everything from whether Shay will finally work up the courage to ask out Nia (Ericka Leobera) to the latest anti-vaccine and other conspiracy theories Vince as consumed on social media.

As her older brother and his friend wander the block without her, the sullen Cee Cee quietly pines for a former love. Her lonesome state takes an unexpected hopeful turn for the better when she meets Allie (Milan Deng) at the local park. As the two compare notes on the annoying traits older brothers have, and teach Cee Cee to ride a bike, the opportunity for lasting friendship, and potentially love, arises.

Although one new door opens for Cee Cee, another one could potentially close for best friends Nia and Britney (Trinity Lloyd). Planning to make the most of their last summer together before heading off to college, Nia is afraid to tell her pal that her family is planning to move out of the complex.

Taking the audience on an entertaining tour through the St. James area, Poblete’s film is a love letter to youth and community. The apartment complexes the teens, and kids they interact with, inhabit may be infested with cockroaches and bedbugs but it is also a place full of love and warmth. One where childhood bonds, that seem impenetrable at the time, are forged and engraved into memory.

As if looking into the mirror and seeing one’s sense of youthful innocence reflected back to them, Sunburn captures both the silly moments shared amongst friends and the mixture of curiosity and confusion that comes with approaching the precipice of adulthood. While audiences don’t necessarily need to see their world from the perspective of a roach, Poblete gives the film just the right amount of substance to balance out its playful levity. In doing so, the filmmaker not only highlights his immense talent, which he is only scraping the surface of here, but also his acute awareness of what it means to be young in a modern age.

As his characters intersect over the course of the day, Poblete’s film touches on everything from budding sexuality to the toxic masculinity teen boys mimic without understanding to the lingering impact of suicide. Despite these heavy topics, and the emotional weight the teens bear at times as a result, Sunburn remains a breezy and engaging celebration of friendship.

Thanks in part to the strong performances and effortless chemistry of the multi-ethnic ensemble cast, the audience truly feels as if they are a part of the St. James community. One where older teens like Shay and Vince ensure that all the younger kids they meet have everything they need to survive. By keeping the parents at the margins of the film, Poblete’s film allows room for his characters to sort out their various emotions amongst each other.

An endlessly charming and very playful debut, Sunburn is one of the year’s pleasant surprises. A film that you will enjoy spending the day hanging out with.

Sunburn premiered at TIFF 2026 on September 14, and has additional screenings on September 16.

Head here for all our That Shelf TIFF 2026 coverage .