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Baby (EN)

Baby (EN)

MARCELO CAETANO | BRAZIL | 2024 | 107 MIN | PORTUGUESE EST

MARCELO CAETANO | BRAZIL | 2024 | 107 MIN | PORTUGUESE EST

FeatureCOMPETITION

Subtitles: French, English

Presented by

Fugues

Synopsis

PORTUGUESE • ENGLISH ST | Wellington (defiantly nicknamed Baby) trades his detention centre cell for the streets of São Paulo, absorbed into the life of an in-demand “escort” with old school methods. Torn between this erotic father figure, two chosen families, and the mother who left him, Wellington must discern which link is the strongest. Against a backdrop of corrupt cops, vengeful kingpins, and Brazilian ball culture, maybe-18-year-old Wellington (João Pedro Mariano) falls for 42-year-old sex worker cum drug dealer Ronaldo (Ricardo Teodoro), who has a son not much younger than Wellington being raised by lesbian mothers. The two share a charged, teasing bond with yo-yoing power dynamics. Wellington softens Ronaldo, schooling him in voguing’s ebullience and showing him his battle scars, while Ronaldo grounds his protege, giving him boxing lessons while doling out paternal advice and setting strict boundaries. Boundaries that Ronaldo is desperate to maintain and Wellington comes to resent when youthful potential and a biological parent draw him away. Propelled by Marcelo Caetano’s stylish direction, this gritty coming-of-age tale wrestles with themes of love and coercion, considering what’s still possible for a restless heart when a ‘baby’ becomes a man.

Trailer

Filmmaker Bio

Marcelo Caetano, born in the State of Minas Gerais but now based in São Paulo, directed the feature film Body Electric which premiered in Rotterdam in 2017. He also directed the TV series Hit Parade and Noticias Populares both broadcasted on Canal Brasil. He has worked on various productions as an assistant director and casting producer. In 2009, Marcelo co-founded Desbun Filmes.

Director's Statement

In BABY, the characters are inconstant movement,physically and emotionally. They cross the city streets lookingfor freedom and tryingto survive, fleeingfrom misery andtheirhauntedpasts. The camera walksbeside them, watches them from the topof a buildingandzooms into single them out from the crowd. The charactersdance inthe chaos of the city andthe cameradances withthem. During the shoot, we had a simple rule of mise-en-scene: somethinghas tobe in movement, whether it is the camera, the background, or the actors. Movementbringsus closer to characters' complexity andtheir constant adaptationina life full ofunpredictable situations. Inour current cultural moment, when we try to fixpeople ina single identity, I like characters andinter-personal relationships that challengeus to suspendour categorisations. The connectionbetween Baby and Ronaldo ishardtodefine. I can readthem as "partners incrime",but also as a conflictualpassion; protective but also exploitative. Their relationship changes during the film andthey are fighting to understand who they are in this clashof opposites. It'sboxingandvoguingat the same time. BABY is set inSão Paulo’s olddowntown. I'vebeenfilmingthe same neighborhoodfor 15 years. São Paulo, withitspopulationof 20 million, embodies thedynamic spirit of a migrant city, where every Brazilianpassesby at onepoint intheir lives. It'snot aplace for settlingdown,but rather for experiencingthe vibrant, as well as tough, life of a metropolis. I like to imagine the mapof the olddowntownas adepictionof a body. São Paulo is a city that is alwaysdestroyingoldbuildings to raisenew ones. The city center is crossedby trainlines, tunnels and viaducts. This organic, yetuncontrolled,development leaves a lot of scars in the city tissue. Modernskyscrapers standnext toneoclassical theaters,bourgeois cafés alongside centres forhomelesspeople. It is abody markedby thepastbut alwaysgoingahead, lookingfornew things to come. Onthe mainset of BABY, thehouse where Ronaldo lives, trainspass almost inside the courtyard. Sounds from theneighbours invade the intimacy ofhis room. There is constant funk music comingfrom a favelanearby. It's very chaotic,but sensual at the same time. These are the sounds andimages of theneighborhoodthat I live in. My alarm clock is the metro that passes below my building and softly wakes me every morning. Wenever feel completely alone, as we arepart of this bigengine thatnever stops. Loneliness is not an option for Baby. To have adignifiedlife,heneeds to create bonds with unknown people or even build temporary families. As I witness the disintegration of community life in Brazil, with neoliberal and individualist ideology gaining control of our society, I like to think that this film is a counterpoint to the recent political wave. I strongly believe that freedom is not a personal achievement but a collective one. Baby Needs the support of outsiders to live his life the way he dreams of.

Producer

Stienette Bosklopper, Marcelo Caetano, Juliette Lepoutre, Ivan Melo, Pierre Menahem, Ana Rabelo, Maarten Swart, Beto Tibiriça

Writer

Marcelo Caetano, Gabriel Domingues

Cinematographer

Joana Luz, Pedro Sotero

Cast

  • João Pedro Mariano
  • Ricardo Teodoro
  • Ana Flavia Cavalcanti
  • Bruna Linzmeyer
  • Luiz Bertazzo
  • Marcela Varzea
  • Patrick Coelho
  • Kyra Reis
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PARTNERS

Fugues

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