Narrative Films

Baltasar

20 minutes | Colour | Spain, Australia | premiered 2021

Set against the backdrop of the Three Kings holiday in Barcelona, Baltasar depicts a Senegalese man’s diligent attempts to make ends meet in a new land – and how swiftly it can all be taken away. The striking debut of Australian journalist turned filmmaker Brietta Hague is a humanistic social-realist work that balances empathy with commentary, using unobtrusive, largely verité camerawork to foreground the sobering realities of its displaced protagonist.

Cast

Babou Cham

Alfonso Lara

Núria Prims

Teo Carrion

Mireia Rey

Maurice Gomis

Bachir Samb

Penda Mbathie

Carles Fiestas

Josep de Font

Crew

Executive Producer: Estela Rasal

Producers: Gala Gracia, Brietta Hague

Writer/Director: Brietta Hague

Director of Photography: Daniel Vergara

Production Design: Marisabel Dávila Lobo

Editor: Jessie Hildebrand

Music: Felix Watson & Amadou Suso

Casting by: Luci Lenox & Mike Cater

Gaffer: Ferran Grau

Sound: Leo Dolgan

Awards

Winner of Australian Director’s Guild award Best Short film 2022

Winner St Kilda Film Festival awards for Best Short Film, Best Director and Best Screenplay 2022

Jury Special Mention Festival Internacional de Cine de Lanzarote 2022

Melbourne International Film Festival winner of Film Victoria Erwin Rado award for Best Australian Short Film 2021

MIFF Jury Statement: Brietta Hague’s impressive debut, Baltasar, explores racial prejudices over the Three Kings holiday in Spain with nuanced and vibrant writing, an unflinching eye and empathy for all. Babou Cham is compelling as Aziz – a migrant father working to provide for his family in Senegal – and beautifully captures his quiet dignity and heartbreak in the midst of displacement. This is assured storytelling that lulls you into a false sense of security before going for the jugular.