This week, we've got a new film... Amazing right? what's even more amazing is that I've got Nona on the show and we're not watching garbage for once.
This week Totalcultzone presents... Babystar (blue tick)
A German movie about the perils of celebrity in the social media age.
PRESS!!!
Luca lives in a big house with her loving parents, and she has millions of followers on social media. She has everything a teenage girl could wish for. Except Luca has never chosen that life - being an influencer is a family business and her parents make it very clear that although she is very dear to them, she must play her part to keep the sponsors coming.
When her parents plan to extend the family, a crisis begins to loom. As Luca puts it herself: she just wants to be ‘special’. Can she remain the only ‘babystar’ or is she as expendable as her last Instagram story?
Having premiered to strong reviews at the 2025 Toronto International Film Festival, Babystar has drawn comparisons to Yorgos Lanthimos and Ruben Östlund, earning a strong reviews from Screen Daily, Variety and others.
While satire often mirrors reality too sharply for comfort, Babystar's release in UK & Irish cinemas comes at a time when social media is under huge scrutiny, especially in teenagers and children. In June 2026, the UK government announced legislation to ban under-16s from social media platforms including TikTok, Instagram, YouTube and Snapchat, with the bill likely to come into force later next year.
The cast of Babystar include Maja Bons (Everybody is F*king Crazy), Bea Brocks, Liliom Lewald, Joy Ewulu, Maximilian Mundt (How to Sell Drugs Online (Fast)) and Verena Altenberger (Tatort).
Director's Statement
“We are all shaped by our parents. For better or worse, their values, desires, experiences, and habits live on in us. But what happens when that bond becomes a commodity? How do the dynamics within a family change when they run a business together, one in which the child is the star? And most importantly, how does a young woman find herself when she’s raised as both a projection and a product?
In Babystar, I explore the phenomenon of family influencers and, using a psychological and satirical lens, illuminate the depths of intra-family dependency. Building on my previous work, which also examined the internet’s impact on young people, I aim to craft a portrait of a protagonist that is deeply rooted in the zeitgeist, one that offers a sharp critical perspective on our prevailing attention economy.
We are now at a moment when the first YouTube babies are becoming teenagers, some of whom are publicly rebelling against their parents and questioning whether growing up in the social media spotlight was ever ethically right. Babystar anticipates and amplifies this moment to spark discussion, taking a clear stance without being didactic or moralizing. Because, as consumers, we all contribute to and reinforce the rules of internet capitalism.
I wanted to tell this story because I understand the intimacy and complexity of close parent-child relationships. As a teenager and an early adopter of social networks, I was profoundly shaped by them. And my time in the YouTube industry gave me a deep understanding of the dynamics of online platforms and the people who thrive there."
Joscha Bongard, Director
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Music
Tatami: Midnight Drive
Music from #Uppbeat https://uppbeat.io/t/tatami/midnight-drive License code: I27A9WQID9MEZUKO
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