Babystar Turns Influencer Childhood Into an Eerie, Censored Family Satire

Ted Redsull

September 10, 2026
4 min read

Babystar Turns Influencer Childhood Into an Eerie, Censored Family Satire

With the continuing development of technology and the increasing bonds between children and said technology, it’s only right that cinema began to place a focus on these relationships. Babystar tells the story of Luca (Maja Bons), a young woman who has been born into a family who film and post every aspect of their life. Luca and her parents seem to enjoy their lives of popularity but as discussions of changes within the family begin, Luca’s foundations with her online life begin to crack. Babystar premiered as part of the 2025 Toronto Film Festival and aims to generate conversation surrounding the presence of social media and technological consumerism in young people’s lives.

At the centre of Babystar is Maja Bons who gives a nuanced performance as Luca, a young girl who has to get used to living a life where she’s in control. Bons really anchors the film with a fragile performance that helps to generate the conflict and tension between the family. Bons is a brave performer, one who conveys the unsettling lifestyle with a blasé dryness. Luca as a character is an interesting topic, a young woman who we see has had her whole life documented for a wave of fans to see, from day one to this somewhat dystopian present, Luca has never had the time or space to realise who she is and Bons realistically portrays that weight with a good balance of stoicism and childish wonder. As Luca’s parents, Bea Brocks and Liliom Lewald do a good job of playing the film’s antagonists without ever truly descending into outright evil. These characters represent the parents who view their child as a product, one to be used as a commodity for popularity rather than truly a family member. They work and they film and they work some more, presenting a potential look at how the ultra online may function as parents in the future.

This is the debut feature of German filmmaker Joscha Bongard and very quickly you can see that Bongard is a filmmaker with a lot of ideas not only about the topics and themes Babystar is representing but also in terms of the actual form this film takes. Very quickly we come to realise that in Babystar, whenever we see or hear a brand or social network mentioned, it will be censored. Now this choice at first comes off as abrasive and strange, and while it never quite loses its strangeness, I’ve got to appreciate it’s a big swing that matched with elements in the cinematography and sound design, make for an eerie undercurrent within the film. There were moments while watching Babystar where I was reminded of the work of Yorgos Lanthimos and more specifically his earlier work, the likes of Dogtooth and The Lobster. These quiet scenes sometimes edging towards a fisheye look with acting that is blunt and not naturally emotive, it’s this strange world that fluctuates between treating its characters like people or like objects.

Babystar takes a pinch of Yorgos Lanthimos’ filmmaking style and incorporates an extreme discussion of social issues we’re facing now in a reminiscent way to Bong Joon Ho’s Parasite to create an assured debut by Joscha Bongard. Maja Bons gives a great performance as Luca in a film that is sure to generate conversation surrounding the vices in our lives and the place of young people in modern society.

Babystar is strange enough to unsettle and specific enough to stick with you. EyeOnLondon says catch it in cinemas from 25th September before the conversation it wants to start happens without you.

For more London arts and culture, visit EyeOnLondon at eye-on-london.com.

[Image Credit | Jakob Sinsel]