PÖFF: A Job Well Done

PÖFF30 | Tallinn Black Nights Film Festival | 6-22 november 2026 | Cinema Artis

On the frontlines of Geneva’s asylum system, a group of social workers face the daily realities of helping refugees navigate an increasingly Kafkaesque bureaucracy. Their base is an unlikely one: a double-decker bus where they offer support, guidance and a human connection to people caught in limbo. As their commitment to helping others grows, so does the tension between what the rules demand and what compassion requires. Following his acclaimed “La Mif”, Frédéric Baillif draws on his experience as a social worker, creating an authentic portrait of people battling at the forefront of a world of everyday encounters, bureaucratic routines, and moral dilemmas. His observational approach and naturalistic performances capture heated discussions, glimpses of fierce determination, and instants of solidarity, giving the film an immediacy that often recalls the intimate social realism of the Dardenne brothers and Ken Loach. Quietly constructed and assuredly directed, “A Job Well Done” gradually turns a story about bureaucracy into a powerful and deeply human reflection on empathy, responsibility, and the courage to do what feels right.

Massimo Iannetti