Directed by: Joscha Bongard
Written by: Joscha Bongard, Nicole Rüthers
Starring: Maja Bons, Bea Brocks, Liliom Lewald
Babystar is a German film directed by Joscha Bongard that feels eerily familiar in 2026. It’s a film that strips back the pretence and façade of a social media influencer family and examines the alienation caused by late-stage capitalism.
It follows the teenage daughter, Nunki (Maja Bons) with her mother, Stella (Bea Brocks) being a make-up influencer and father, Chris (Liliom Lewald) being a fitness influencer. It’s a family dynamic that anyone who has spent an evening doomscrolling social media will immediately recognise and relate to. But what happens to those who are born into this type of family, where every moment of their life, from the very birth to their daily yoga session, is filmed and recorded on Instagram or TikTok?
This is a question that Bongard asks in Babystar, and he ends up giving an interesting study into this life. The film opens with a selection of security camera footage that immediately sets the tone to the surveillance and image-focused world this is set in. This is a technique that recurs as Nunki attempts to stay connected to their family even when she leaves it. The score from this opening scene is beautiful, with an orchestral choir creating an atmosphere that is unsettling enough to keep viewers on the edge of their seats.
As the film progresses, it becomes clearer that the façade of their perfect family is hollow and Nunki becomes increasingly depressed and isolated. This accelerates with the announcement that Stella and Chris are looking to have another child, which causes Nunki to spiral into feelings of abandonment. This reaches a climax with a particularly disturbing scene in a restaurant that causes Nunki to move into a hotel away from her parents.
This character development is where the film slightly falters, narratively. Maja Bons plays the character of Nunki fantastically, but the writing of her character feels rushed at points and hypocritical at others. After witnessing the damage this influencer life is causing her, she still continues to participate in it and take advantage of others. This perhaps speaks to Nunki’s inability to form genuine human connections through the isolation this social media life has caused her.
One of the most interesting parts of this film is the relationship Nunki has with her AI avatar that her social media team had been developing. Nunki continues to use this avatar as a form of therapy, but it always remains hollow and highlights Nunki’s inability to connect with people on a personal level. This is seen when mirroring this relationship with her relationship with Julie (Joy Ewulu). In early scenes, it appears that there is a connection between the two for a genuine friendship yet as the film progresses, this friendship ends up centring around her brand and becoming about her social media.
In many ways, this film is about Nunki trying to break from the cycle of being a brand and, instead, try to find herself as a person. The ending gives an indication that this can be possible, but at points Babystar only scratches the surface of its critique on this influencer world. It is, however, a thought-provoking and poignant film for today’s society.
Babystar will be in UK Cinemas from 25th September 2026.