VALENCIA, SPAIN Independent filmmaker Alejand has created Heart in Flames (Corazón en llamas), a deeply personal short film inspired by the loss of his partner, Eli, in the Valencia fire of February 22, 2024.

The film explores what happens after sudden loss when the world continues moving forward but the person left behind feels trapped in the moment everything changed. Through memory, dreams and everyday encounters, Heart in Flames follows a grieving man who continues to imagine his partner beside him, finding brief moments of connection in the places and experiences they once shared.

According to the screenplay, the February 22, 2024 fire claimed the lives of ten people. Hernández Bernardos describes the film as a personal tribute to his partner and to the other victims who lost their lives in the tragedy.

At the heart of the story is Eli, who came to Spain from Nalchik in the Caucasus in 2014 with her son, Tamik. The screenplay portrays her as a woman who found happiness in Valencia and became a central part of Hernández Bernardos' life. He recalls the seven years they spent together as some of the happiest of his life.

Rather than presenting grief as something that simply disappears with time, Heart in Flames examines the complicated relationship between memory and healing. The protagonist deliberately holds on to his pain because letting the wound heal feels, in some way, like letting go of the person he lost.

The film also explores questions of faith and disbelief. The protagonist describes himself as agnostic while struggling with the possibility that his partner may somehow still be near him. Messages from people who claim to have experienced a connection with Eli further challenge his understanding of death, memory and reality.

A recurring symbol in the story is a heart-shaped pendant divided into two pieces. Eli and her partner each carried one half, with the two pieces forming a complete heart when brought together. Eli's half was lost in the fire, leaving the surviving half as a physical reminder of their relationship. The screenplay connects this image directly to the protagonist's feeling that part of his own heart was burned away in the tragedy.

Ultimately, Heart in Flames is a story about continuing forward without forgetting the person who is no longer there. The protagonist's journey moves from an inability to accept the passage of time toward the possibility of carrying his memories with him as he continues along the path of life.

With its intimate approach to grief, personal remembrance and the aftermath of tragedy, Heart in Flames offers a filmmaker's personal reflection on love, loss and the difficult process of finding a way to move forward.

About Heart in Flames
Heart in Flames (Corazón en llamas) is a short-film screenplay by Alejandro Hernández Bernardos. The work is presented as a personal tribute to Eli and to the victims of the February 22, 2024 Valencia fire.