Canadian Premiere
The daughter from a man’s first marriage feels left out and misunderstood at a birthday celebration for her younger stepsister. This is a beautifully made family relations story about a child’s insecurities and a father’s failure to recognize his daughter’s needs in a difficult situation. Reminiscent of Catherine Breillat’s emotionally rich works minus the sexual identity aspects, the film captures the mood and feelings of awkward belonging and frustration the daughter is overwhelmed by. Baby stems directly from the director’s experience growing up and exposes the difficulties and confusion children may have when parental relationships change.
Community Partner
Verónika Moral, Jorge Kent, Liz Lobato, María Zuheros, Bernabé Fernández, Montse Pla
Spain
2022
In Spanish with English subtitles
Featured in:
International Shorts: Family Ties
The bonds of family form the basis of this program of short films. Bonds with history and responsibility—sometimes close, sometimes strained—now and for the future.
Missing VIFF? Check Out What's Playing at the VIFF Centre
La Bola Negra
A big, old-school historical melodrama gets a thrillingly modern, queer makeover from Spanish duo Javier Calvo and Javier Ambrossi, who artfully juggle three gay protagonists across stories set in 1932, 1937, and 2017. Winner: Best Director, Cannes. Screening on 35mm.
The History of Concrete
After attending a workshop on pitching saccharine Hallmark movies, John Wilson tries to apply all the same best practices to his documentary about concrete. Frequently absurd and endlessly entertaining detours, asides, and digressions ensue.
The Mad Dog of Europe
The story of an unmade screenplay from the writer of Citizen Kane. In 1932, Herman Mankiewicz wrote a film that foretold the persecution of the Jews and the war in Europe. But Hollywood wouldn't take the risk and The Mad Dog of Europe was never made.
The Mortal Storm
In this explicitly anti-Nazi melodrama directed by Frank Borzage (Three Comrades) a year before the US entered the war, Margaret Sullavan and James Stewart fall in love as their friends and family fall prey to the rise of Hitler's Nazi party in Germany.
NAZA
NAZA is a codeword euphemistically used by Israeli intelligence to indicate the number of civilians it expects will be killed in an airstrike. This chilling documentary exposes the policy and process of state-sanctioned mass killings.
Three Comrades
Scripted by F Scott Fitzgerald, Three Comrades (1938) was the first US studio film to chronicle the rise of European fascism in the 30s. Three German veterans open up a repair shop and try to regain a normal life, but political extremists have other ideas.
Credits
Producer
Elena Zabía, Miguel Ángel Larraya, Fernando Bonelli
Screenwriter
Fernando Bonelli
Cinematography
Enrique Silguero, Carlos Garcés
Editor
Ascen Marchena
Original Music
Juan Antonio Simarro, Fernando Bonelli
Art Director
Isi G. San Martín
Director
Fernando Bonelli
Fernando Bonelli began his career leading Globo Media’s artistic department. In 2003, he founded Bonelli & Asociados, a company specializing in advice and legal support in the artistic field, and a few years later, Consuelo Films and Mayfield Pictures.
