Babystar

Luca is an influencer. For as long as she can remember, she has been the star of her parents‘ family social media business and their sole pride and joy. When her parents decide to have another child, the situation changes. Luca feels betrayed and is afraid that her parents will no longer need her, whose attention remains tied to her performance for the family account. But then Luca tries to free herself from external control and commercialism.

In Babystar, a central theme is Luca’s search for identity, shaped by her relationships with her parents, her home, her followers, and the other people she encounters. Few elements in music—whether creating or listening—touch us as deeply and connect so strongly to our sense of self as the human voice. From the very beginning, the idea was to use the voice as a central element of the score. In Babystar, the voice appears in many forms: sometimes natural, sometimes heavily transformed—distorted through guitar pedals, processed in a sampler, or enhanced with autotune. The music conveys how Luca’s self-image and sense of identity are influenced both by her parents and by the digital platforms where she has millions of followers. Throughout the film, Luca searches for her own voice, and the music follows her on this journey, giving expression to her disorientation and pain.

Parts of the score were written very early in the film’s development. The final scene, for instance, was shot to music that remains in place in the finished film. During editing, the team largely avoided using temporary tracks, instead working with early musical sketches that were later recomposed and fully produced.

Much of the score was created from recordings in Jonas’ studio, using a wide variety of instruments—many of which were later heavily processed. These included guitar, trombone, body percussion, and voice, as well as more unconventional sounds such as a toy glockenspiel, body percussion and a Colombian guacharaca.

The vocals featured in the score are performed by members of the Berlin Singers Collective.

In 2026, Babystar won the Special Mention for Music at the Music & Cinema International Festival in Marseille.

Babystar has been released in German theaters, the original motion picture soundtrack can be found on all streaming services and Bandcamp.