‘Babooshka - Tizza Covi & Rainer Frimmel’

Directed by Tizza Covi and Rainer Frimmel and screened as part of the Close-up dedicated to them, Babooska is an episodic film that describes the daily struggle for survival of modern nomads in Italy. Over the period of one year it follows the young artist Babooska, who runs a travelling circus with her family, on her odyssey through remote areas of the country. An unvarnished look behind the scenes of a microcosm on the fringes of society - beyond the usual stereotypes, without commentary, without interviews. Both melancholic and humorous at the same time, the film describes not only the way of life of modern nomads – a way of life that is gradually dying out – but also the general human condition of being on the move, between a glorious past and an uncertain future, between doubt and the hope that life will always be like a full “modern, well-heated circus”.

Born in Bolzano in 1971, Tizza Covi lived in Paris and Berlin before studying photography in Vienna. She then moved to Rome, where she thrives as a photographer. Rainer Frimmel was born in Vienna the same year, where he also studied photography. Sharing his passion with Tizza, they combined their talents in 2002 to found Vento Films, an independent production company. Since then, their collaboration has been crowned with success, with their films winning numerous awards at prestigious festivals such as the Berlinale, Locarno, Cannes (Directors' Fortnight) and Cinéma du Réel Paris. In their work, which ranges from documentary to fiction, photography has a special place. Tizza Covi and Rainer Frimmel also regularly work with non-professional actors, who are invited to take part in a fictional story while playing themselves.