Babai
The Babai is the night-time bogeyman for children: traumas determine who you are, according to this claustrophobic portrait of two Russian brothers.
65'
Russia
IFFR 2020
Rampant debt and a significant midlife crisis send philosopher Edmund Burke (Antony Langdon) fleeing from London to embark on an expedition through the French Alps. He brings along a servant on loan from his brother's plantation in the West Indies, a young indigenous woman named Awak (Nathalia Acevedo from Post Tenebras Lux). Together they set out to discover the sublime in this 18th-century road movie. Ill-equipped for the outdoor life, Burke whinges the days away while Awak carries all their supplies and makes sure his face is perpetually powdered.
With ample snark and a masterful sense of natural light, Jacobi, acting as both cinematographer and director, constructs each scene of his debut feature with a sense of humour and a delicate frame. Will Burke find a fitting subject for his philosophical inquiry in the immensity of Mother Nature's beauty? Or will the natural world become his master in the end?
IFFR 2020
Programme IFFR 2020
A selection of fifteen feature-length debut films, presented at IFFR in world or international premiere.
Read more about this programmeThe Babai is the night-time bogeyman for children: traumas determine who you are, according to this claustrophobic portrait of two Russian brothers.
65'
Russia
IFFR 2020
1934. Bolivia is at war with Paraguay. Led by a mercenary German general, native soldiers push ever deeper into the hostile Chaco region.
77'
Bolivia
IFFR 2020
By day, Koki is a nice tourist guide in Guatemala City, but at night he lures men to a hotel – where they are relieved of their property.
75'
Guatemala
IFFR 2020