“Disarming…an exemplary feat of documentary filmmaking”
— Thom Ernst, Original Cin
“One of the most unforgettable depictions of childhood in recent memory.”
— International Cinephile Society
“A crowdpleasing evocation of the Dutch city during one sun-dappled summer”
— Neil Young, Screen International
A TEEN RAPPER FROM ROTTERDAM HAS BIG DREAMS,
BUT EVEN BIGGER PROBLEMS IN THIS WINNER
OF BEST YOUTH DOCUMENTARY AT THE
INTERNATIONAL DOCUMENTARY FILM FESTIVAL
SHABU
Street Date: May 16, 2023
DVD/Digital: $24.95
A Crystal Bear Nominee for Best Film at the Berlinale, IndiePix’s DVD Release
Includes Lenno & the Angelfish, a Bonus Short Film from
Director Shamira Raphaëla
SYNOPSIS
Meet Shabu, a 14-year-old Dutch-Surinamese aspiring artist from “The Paperclip,” an inner-city apartment complex in one of Rotterdam’s most notorious neighborhoods. Shabu has big dreams but even bigger problems. He’s just totaled his grandmother’s car and desperately needs to raise some cash before the end of the summer in order to pay her back. Utilizing his musical talent and street smarts, Shabu concocts a plan to both make money and make his family proud in this crowd-pleasing documentary that culminates in a “rousingly raucous finale” (Screen Daily).
A Crystal Bear nominee for Generation Kplus Best Film at last year’s Berlinale, as well as the winner of the Best Youth Documentary at IDFA 2021, SHABU also captured the Golden Calf Award for Best Documentary at the Nederlands Film Festival and was a nominee for Best Documentary at DocsBarcelona.
Says director Shamira Raphaëla: This film is set in the so-called “hood” but is consciously stepping away from the dominant outside narrative of inner city life: no portrayal of victimhood, no poverty porn, no grim images. Instead, in this film, you see the world through Shabu’s eyes. I come from a marginalized diaspora background myself and made a documentary, Deal with It (2014), which showed the unfortunate dark side of the immigrant legacy, a Caribbean family descended into drugs and crime. With SHABU, I felt compelled to show the other side of our community, happy loving families: caring fathers, strong friendships, supportive neighbors, dreams and aspirations, normalcy. A film filled with love, light, and joy regardless of the rough backdrop.”
BONUS FEATURE
- Bonus short film — Lenno & the Angelfish (2017, directed by Shamira Raphaëla) Winner, IDFA Award for Best Children’s Documentary
DIRECTOR BIOGRAPHY: SHAMIRA RAPHAELA
Shamira Raphaëla is a Dutch-Caribbean documentary director known for Daddy and the Warlord (2019) for which she won a Golden Calf Award at NFF 2019. The documentary screened in the mid-length competition of festivals such as Visions du Reel, Hotdocs, and DOCNYC. Her documentary Lenno and the Angelfish (2017) received the “Award for Best European Children’s Documentary”’ during the Berlinale by the European Film Association in 2019 and received the “Award for Best Children’s Documentary” at IDFA, 2018. She captured the “Karin de Bok Talent Award” with her script in the development ‘Downfall of a Superwoman’ during IDFA, 2018. And her documentary, Deal with it (2014) won awards at the Aruba Film Festival, Belize Film Festival, and Moskou Film Festival and was nominated for Best Debut at the NFF 2015.
PROGRAM INFORMATION
Type: DVD/Digital (Amazon, iTunes, Vudu)
Running Time: 75 minutes
Genre: World Cinema/Documentary
Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1
Audio: 2.0 Stereo
Language: Dutch with English Subtitles
