A beautiful and charming ode to the miracle of life, Babies is director Thomas Balmes' year-in-the-life documentary portrait of Ponijao, Bayarjargal, Mari and Hattie, four newborns living in completely different parts of the world (Namibia, Mongolia, Tokyo and San Francisco, respectively). As he tracks their development, Balmes avoids interviews and voiceover commentary, instead relying on strong visual storytelling. The result is a jubilant, humorous and nearly dialogue-free documentary that bowled over distributors when it was first screened. "Non-fiction filmmaking of the purest form, Babies asks one thing of the viewer: joyful observation." (Sean Farnel, Hot Docs)
