Beba
Dazzling self-portrait of a New York filmmaker who explores her Latin and African-American heritage in this revealing glimpse into her turbulent youth and family history.
Festival IDFA
Run time 80 minutes
Genre film
Language English and Spanish
Dutch premiere
Beba
New York filmmaker Rebeca “Beba” Huntt explores her cultural background as an Afro-Latinx woman. Her personal history encompasses a typical melting pot of diverse family stories. Her mother came from a well-to-do background in Venezuela. Her father, of Dominican heritage, worked on a sugar plantation, but had to flee the violence of war and ended up in Brooklyn. In conversation with Huntt, he proudly explains how he managed at last to find a small apartment in Manhattan—the definitive proof of his emancipation.
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In the course of four revealing “chapters,” Huntt sheds light on a complicated family history, her upbringing, the influence of the Black Lives Matter movement and her dreams of the future. Clips from home movies, photo albums and other archive material illustrate her youth in multicultural (and latently racist) New York, along with off-the-cuff footage of conversations between the director and her opinionated sister. Huntt remarks on all of this in her voice-over, and muses aloud about all that back and forth between cultures.
Credits
Director Rebeca Huntt
Production Sofia Geld
Executive producer Ana Petra Costa, Alyse Ardell Spiegel, Alessandra Orofino, Joy Bryant, Inuka Bacote-Capiga
Cinematography Sophia Stieglitz
Editing Isabel Freeman
Sound Carlos Cortés Navarrete, Ricardo Arteaga, Ricardo Lavalle Cárdenas
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Sound Design Abraham Chacra
Music Holland Andrews
Screenplay Rebeca Huntt
World Sales NEON
Festival Handling Mia Bruno
Screening copy BEBA FILM LLC
ABOUT IDFA
IDFA stands for the power of creative documentary. Documentaries that can connect, inspire and excite. Documentaries that expand the view of ourselves, the environment and the world around us. During this edition of the festival, ITA hosts daily screenings of documentaries and special performances.