Described by Variety as “Nicholas Ray meets Jean-Luc Godard”, I'm Gonna Explode is a Mexian story of teenage angst which, unusually, has a female as the lead character. Produced by Canana, the production company founded by the Mexican hotshots Gael García Bernal, Diego Luna and Pablo Cruz, whose mission is to invest in young local talent, it’s sure to guarantee that the name “Gerardo Naranjo” is heard of again.

Taking its cue from Rebel Without A Cause, the story begins when Roman (Juan Pablo de Santiago) and Maru (Maria Deschamps) meet in detention. Son of a rich, right-wing politician, Roman, desperate for his father’s attention, is soon kicked out of school for a witty mock-suicide in the school talent show. Maru is working-class, an outsider, pouring all her intimate thoughts into her diary. A match made in heaven, Roman makes a decision, and turns his violent fantasies into semi-reality when they pretend he's abducting her at gunpoint. But rather than facing the harsh reality of life on the lam, the two hide out on his rooftop, living in a tent while their parents frantically look for them.

Naranjo’s visual style captures the rhythm of his characters’ emotional mood swings, their frantic energy combined with their lack of direction. But, more than anything, he has captured the main problem of youth today, that teens without anything of their own to rebel against will ultimately explode.