BABA
2021 · 18m · UK
Directed by Adam Ali, Sam Arbor
Genres: coming-of-age, drama, LGBTQ+
Tones: melancholic, tender, tense
Living in the tunnels beneath Tripoli, a queer Libyan teenager nicknamed Britannia dreams of escaping to a better life — until an unexpected discovery forces him to choose between fleeing his homeland or staying true to both his queerness and his Libyan heritage.
Picked by Zoe
The scouts
Queer Libyan kid in the Tripoli tunnels — that intersection of Arab, Muslim, queer, underground basically never gets made, and the page is password-protected which I'll take as on-brand. Worth the hassle.
An underground Tripoli queer coming-of-age is precisely the intersection short-form cinema exists to surface — the lineage runs through Rafiki and beyond. I must decline a confident enthusiasm rating: the Vimeo link is password-protected and the page summary is unrevealing.
Queer, Arab, Muslim, Libyan, underground in Tripoli — that intersection is genuinely unseen on screen, and the tunnel setting is a rich production design choice. Can't preview because the Vimeo is password-protected, but the premise alone justifies the bet.
Reviews
Says more in 17 minutes than most films say in two hours.
A wonderful short film, with some really excellent visual storytelling and compelling performances crammed into its lean 18-minute runtime.
Festivals
- Iris Prize 2021, Best Short Film & Best British Short
- Flickers Rhode Island International Film Festival 2021, Semi-Finalist
- Raindance Film Festival 2021
- BFI Flare: London LGBTQIA+ Film Festival 2022
- Scottish Queer International Film Festival