Mariana Borges' 2019 documentary Babi & Elvis offers a uniquely intimate and poignant portrait of love, identity, and social marginalization. The film invites the viewer into the life of Bárbara Vieira, a trans woman, as she navigates the preparations and emotional journey leading up to her wedding with Elvis. The film presents a deeply personal perspective, achieved through its use of an ultra-close camera and its empathetic engagement with Babi’s world. In doing so, Babi & Elvis transcends a simple wedding documentary, offering a powerful commentary on love, acceptance, and the everyday struggles faced by people who exist outside the societal norm. The film’s storytelling is defined by its simplicity. We follow Babi as she prepares for her wedding day, but the documentary is far more than just a behind-the-scenes look at a wedding. Through an intimate and direct connection with Babi, the camera captures moments of vulnerability, joy, and tension that offer a rare glimpse into the life of a trans woman, one who exists on the margins of both race and gender within Brazilian society. The absence of elaborate commentary or explanations in the film allows Babi to speak for herself, subtly telling us who she is without needing to explain everything.
One scene in particular stands out in the film. It takes place in a bar, where Babi waits, feeling a mixture of anxiety and anticipation before the ceremony. In one of the few wide shots of the film, Babi enters the women’s restroom with an air of nonchalance, a quiet defiance against the deeply entrenched prejudice she faces in everyday life. This moment, though subtle, is powerful in its everyday ordinariness. It recalls an incident that took place earlier in the year when Lanna Hellen, a Black trans woman, was unjustly expelled from a shopping mall in Maceió for simply needing to use the bathroom. Through the lens of the camera, this seemingly mundane act of using the restroom becomes a subtle act of resistance, a reclamation of space by someone who has long been denied their right to live freely. Despite a few technical limitations, Babi & Elvis excels in its portrayal of a trans and Black body surrounded by love - love not just from a partner, but from the community that gathers to witness Babi’s marriage. This is a love that defies societal conventions and norms, existing in a space still largely excluded from mainstream acceptance. By reframing the romantic image, the documentary presents a vision that is not overly idealized or glamorized, but victorious. In this way, the film reimagines the romantic ideal, showing it as an act of resistance and triumph rather than one of submission to normative standards.
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The documentary, despite its modest production scale, reveals a critical engagement with the wedding industry, which has grown into a multi-billion-dollar business. At first glance, it may seem that the wedding could have proceeded just the same without the presence of a film crew. Babi would have gotten married regardless. However, the film reveals that, without the support of the filmmakers, she might not have had the financial means to document such a personal event. The creation of the film itself becomes a subversion of the wedding industry’s commercialization, a crack in a system that profits off societal expectations of marriage and romance. Rather than a purely charitable gesture, the filmmaker becomes a participant in the event, making use of the mise-en-scène built around Babi’s wedding day. Mariana Borges seamlessly blends ethnographic techniques, amateur home video styles, and the more polished aesthetics typical of wedding videos. Through this fusion of styles, the film allows us to witness the traditional wedding moments - Babi getting ready, her recorded message for Elvis, the arrival of guests, the ceremony, the kiss, the exchange of rings, the bouquet toss, the party, and the drunken revelry - with a level of intimacy that feels both personal and universal. It’s a portrayal of an event that is both ordinary and extraordinary in its own way, a reflection of the everyday magic of life’s moments.
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Through the course of the documentary, the viewer becomes slowly acquainted with Babi and her world. The film never explicitly tells us who Babi is in a traditional sense. Instead, we learn about her life through moments of interaction and personal reflection. In one particularly poignant segment, Babi recounts how she met Elvis. She describes a time when she was being assaulted, and Elvis intervened to protect her. In an emotional exchange, she asked him what he saw in her, questioning why he would want to be with “a Black, old, toothless, ugly, disgusting queer woman.” Elvis simply replied, “I want you.” This story reveals not just their bond but also the deep emotional and physical scars Babi carries from her experiences as a marginalized person. Together, they have made a life, married on paper, and are now preparing for this symbolic ceremony. The location of the wedding also holds significance. The ceremony takes place at Bar do Fernando, a karaoke bar in central Belo Horizonte, where Babi is surrounded by a community of friends. This space is deeply familiar to her, and the street outside feels like her personal backyard. The bar serves as a community hub, a space where Babi and her friends gather to share in life’s important moments. This casual setting contrasts sharply with the grand, commercialized vision of weddings often seen in media. It is here, in this small, intimate space, that Babi experiences her moment of celebration.
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In Babi & Elvis, the focus is predominantly on Babi, with Elvis playing a more peripheral role. One telling moment occurs during the bouquet toss, when Babi literally pushes Elvis out of the frame. This act, seemingly small, is deeply symbolic. It says: "This moment is mine." Babi reclaims the narrative of the wedding, embracing the ritual and making it her own. She fully immerses herself in the experience, defying the expectations and limitations often placed on people like her. The wedding, in this sense, becomes a site of resistance, where Babi can assert her identity and claim the right to live her love story on her own terms. Rather than focusing on the conventional narrative of two people coming together in matrimony, the film highlights the transformative power of romantic imagination when it is appropriated by bodies that have been historically excluded from such dreams. In one emotional scene, Babi dances with Elvis, swaying to a song by Guilherme Arantes, whose lyrics echo a declaration of love and devotion. In this moment, Babi embraces her place within the romantic tradition, reclaiming her right to be loved and celebrated. The music, both nostalgic and contemporary, underscores the broader theme of the film: the intersection of culture, love, and identity.
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At the 23rd Tiradentes Film Festival, Babi & Elvis transcended the realm of cinema. Babi herself was present at the screening, sharing the significance of the film and the wedding with the audience. After the screening, the audience’s response was overwhelming, with applause and cheers, followed by a queue of attendees eager to meet Babi and ask for autographs. It was a moment of recognition, a delayed but sincere celebration of the marriage that had taken place months earlier. Babi was being honored, not just for her participation in the film, but for the life she had lived and continues to live. In an interview with TV Mostra, Babi reflected on her experience, expressing her shock at the positive response she received: "We are so discriminated against, so attacked. And suddenly, you find yourself in a world where everyone looks at you differently, congratulates you, tells you that you shine." The contrast between the harshness of real-life discrimination and the warmth of the Tiradentes audience’s embrace highlights the contradictions of the world we live in. Yet, Babi remains hopeful, saying, "This gives us strength to keep going... we can be happy being who we are." Babi & Elvis ultimately encapsulates the possibility of joy and happiness for marginalized communities, providing a glimpse into a world where love is celebrated in its many forms. The film invites us to reconsider the dominant narratives of love, marriage, and identity, suggesting that, perhaps, the true magic of life lies in embracing who we are, on our own terms.
Image credits: vidafair
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