Baby Jackfruit Baby Guava

An unplanned baby prompts a family to travel back in time through their family diaries and photos.

Young filmmaker Quang lives a free, queer life in Hanoi, far from his family and older sister Mai, nicknamed Baby Jackfruit as a child. When unexpected news arrives from home, Quang questions his choices and decides to make a feature film. He dedicates it to Baby Guava, the soon-to-be-born daughter of his sister Mai, who struggles with schizophrenia.

Told in Quang’s own voice in a diary-like style, the film explores the distance within an estranged family. Through photographs, childhood memories, and confessions, he speaks to Baby Guava, who will see the film in the future, and reveals a secret about his lover in Hanoi.

Witty, tender, and sad, the film is both intimate and universal. A festival favourite at Visions du Réel and Hot Docs, this deeply personal documentary is likely to be banned in Vietnam, where strict censorship would require so many cuts that most of this precious film would be lost.