Mariam lives with her younger brother and their mother, Fariha, in a tiny apartment in Karachi. When Mariam’s maternal grandfather dies, his brother tries to manipulate them into signing over their apartment, a common occurrence in Pakistan where women's property rights are fragile. Mariam’s grieving mother is easy to influence. Distraught by her mother’s foolishness, Mariam finds solace in a secret romance with a fellow student. When their relationship takes an unexpected turn, Mariam becomes consumed by nightmares. Meanwhile, her mother, caught between her coercive uncle and a murky legal system, is oblivious to her daughter’s deteriorating mental state. Mariam’s nightmares begin to bleed into reality. Mother and daughter must come together if they hope to overcome the real and phantasmal forces that threaten to engulf them.

Director-writer Zarrar Kahn's feature directorial debut IN FLAMES is an unsettling social and supernatural horror, and the first South Asian Horror to premiere at the 76th Cannes Film Festival 2023, as part of the Director’s Fortnight.