Babai

Synopsis

Ten-year old Nori and his father Gezim earn their living by selling cigarettes in pre-war Kosovo of the nineties. Gezim will hear nothing of Nori’s mother. He is an expert at escaping the past and now he wants to flee Kosovo, without Nori. But the boy tries everything in his means to prevent his dad from leaving. An accident results. The shocked father takes Nori to the hospital. When Nori gets out, his father is gone. Angry, yet determined Nori sets out on a perilous journey and indeed finds his father in Germany. With the persistence only a child can have, he confronts his father with leaving him behind.

Info

Drama
2015 – Germany, Republic of Kosovo,
FYR Macedonia, France
Albanian
103 minutes

Original title: Babai

Directed by: Visar Morina
Written by: Visar Morina
Cinematography: Matteo Cocco
Edited by: Stefan Stabenow

Cast: Val Maloku (Nori), Astrit Kabashi (Gezim), Adriana Matoshi (Valentina), Enver Petrovci (Adem), Xhevdet Jashari (Bedri), Alban Ukaj (Smuggler)

Producer: Nicole Gerhards
Co-producer: Visar Krusha, Tomi Salkovski, Xénia Maingot

Produced by: NiKo Film (GER), Produksioni Krusha (KOS), Skopje Film Studio (MK), Eaux Vives Productions (FR)
Supported by: Film-und Medienstiftung NRW, Kosova Cinematography Center, Filmförderungsanstalt FFA, Nordmedia, Macedonian Film Fund, Cinéma du Monde CNC

Festivals

Filmfest München |
– German Cinema New Talent Awards for Director,
– German Cinema New Talent Awards for Screenplay,
– German Cinema New Talent Awards for Actors,
– One Future Prize,
Prizes Overcoming Borders (world premiere)
Karlovy Vary FF |
– Best Director Award,
– Europe Cinemas Label Award
Motovun FF |
Avvantura FF Zadar |
– Best Actor
Helsinki IFF
Reykjavik IFF
Haifa IFF
Busan IFF
BFI London
Hamptons IFF
CineEast |
– Special Jury Prize
Film Fest Gent
Adelaide IFF
Sao Paolo IFF
Thessaloniki
Tous Ecrans Geneva
Seville European FF
Cairo IFF
Bratislava IFF
Talinn IFF
Camerimage
Goa IFF
Panorama of European Cinema |
– Audience Prize
Festival Cinéma Méditerranéen de Bruxelles |
– Prix Cineuropa
Marrakech IFF |
– Special Jury Prize
Palm Springs IFF
Trieste IFF
Göteborg IFF
Florence Balkan Express
Sofia IFF
Hong-Kong IFF
Cleveland IFF
Minneapolis St Paul IFF
Stockholm IFF Junior FF
Crossing Europe Linz
SEE Fest South East European Film Festival L.A.
Seoul IFF Agape
Miredita, Dobar Dan
Santander IFF
Scanorama European Film Forum
Calgary European FF
Eastern Neighbours Film Festival
The Beginning FF
Bengaluru International film festival
International Festival of Films for Children and Young Adults
Diaspora Film Festival
International Children’s Film Festival India