Sami Hawka builds a love story on the run in While Everything Falls

A polyamorous triad forced to flee a conservative village for a capital in revolt sits at the centre of While Everything Falls (Afuera Todo Arde), the feature being developed by Peruvian filmmaker Sami Hawka. Hawka laid out the story in an interview with Variety published on 12 October 2026 Variety. The project is still at the development stage, gathering partners and finance.

The plot follows three lovers in a polyamorous, or multi-partner, relationship in a conservative rural community. Two of them marry to keep up appearances. The cover does not hold. After the third lover exposes the relationship, the characters leave for the capital and become caught up in a rebellion against a fictionalised dictatorship in contemporary Peru.

Hawka, who is based in Madrid and identifies as a nonbinary person with Indigenous roots, frames the film as a fight for personal freedom. The regime on screen is invented. The focus stays on how people try to live openly when family, community and the state close in.

The film is structured as a Peru-Spain-Chile co-production, a setup where production companies and money come from more than one country, with FILMA+ listed as the production entity Variety. That model is common for independent films that need to combine regional funds, broadcasters and sales support. Independent features often secure support this way before a final budget is set. Hawka is looking for additional international co-production partners and funding to move forward.

Two early selections are helping that search. The project was invited to the Business Hub Co-Productions Forum at the Vancouver International Film Festival, where teams pitch unfinished films to possible collaborators. It was also chosen for the Queer Palm Lab, an LGBTQ-focused development programme linked to the Cannes Film Festival that supports filmmakers working with queer stories and perspectives.

For audiences who usually meet a film at the cinema, this is the step before casting and shooting. Projects can spend months or years in labs and markets, testing the script and building the budget. That is normal for independent cinema, where money often arrives piece by piece. Hawka's selections put While Everything Falls in front of the producers and funders who decide what gets made.