Bad Boy Bubby

Rolf de Heer's BAD BOY BUBBY, one of the CIFF's most notorious films, returns for its third festival appearance. Nearly 15 years since the film's release, this dark comedy continues to bewilder and intrigue audiences with its disturbingly original narrative and sharp innovative style. Thirty-five-year-old Bubby has never left the windowless apartment he occupies with his domineering mother. According to Mum, who periodically leaves with gas mask in tow, the poisons in the outside air will surely kill Bubby. Waiting for her return, he sits for entire days without moving because Jesus is always watching. When grotesquely boisterous Pop arrives, Bubby explodes with jealousy. Silencing his mother for the first time, Bubby ventures into the colorful world beyond his apartment. He befriends an eclectic mix of characters, ranging from the promiscuous Salvo Cherie to a struggling rock band to a stray cat. As de Heer assumes Bubby's distorted perspective, he ultimately exposes the oddities of what we perceive as “normal.” – E.J.B.