In an age of influencers the release this looks like a prescient warning for those regarding life on line as a long term career and the Babystar trailer taps into that in ominous fashion.
The story of Babystar…..
Luca lives in a big house with her loving parents, and she has millions of followers on social media. She has everything a teenage girl could wish for. Except Luca has never chosen that life – being an influencer is a family business and her parents make it very clear that although she is very dear to them, she must play her part to keep the sponsors coming. When her parents plan to extend the family, a crisis begins to loom. As Luca puts it herself: she just wants to be ‘special’. Can she remain the only ‘babystar’ or is she as expendable as her last Instagram story?
Having premiered to strong reviews at the 2025 Toronto International Film Festival, Babystar has drawn comparisons to Yorgos Lanthimos and Ruben Östlund, earning a strong reviews from Screen Daily, Variety and others.
The future for influencers?
While satire often mirrors reality too sharply for comfort, Babystar’s release in UK & Irish cinemas comes at a time when social media is under huge scrutiny, especially in teenagers and children. In June 2026, the UK government announced legislation to ban under-16s from social media platforms including TikTok, Instagram, YouTube and Snapchat, with the bill likely to come into force later next year.
The cast of Babystar include Maja Bons (Everybody is F*king Crazy), Bea Brocks, Liliom Lewald, Joy Ewulu, Maximilian Mundt (How to Sell Drugs Online (Fast)) and Verena Altenberger (Tatort).
Babystar is released in UK cinemas on 25th September 2026
related feature : What we know about The Social Network sequel
related feature : Brianna Lee on ‘The Troll’, cyberbullying, and the dark side of internet fame
Here’s the Babystar trailer…..
