A Job Well Done

Local title
Hästi tehtud!
Original title
Un travail exemplaire
Director
Frédéric Baillif
Year
2026
Festival
30th Black Nights Film Festival
Programme
Genre
Subject
Mood

In Geneva, social workers helping refugees confront an asylum system where compassion may become an act of defiance.

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

Director
Frédéric Baillif
Screenwriter
Joanne Giger, Frédéric Baillif
Producer
Thomas Reichlin, Britta Rindelaub, Frédéric Baillif
Cast
Sewit Abadi, Sabbel Ceesay, Rebecca Baillif, Claudia Grob, Selam Tesfu
Cinematographer
Joseph Areddy
Editing
Frédéric Baillif, Nicolas Hislaire, Karine Sudan, Jeremy Rieder
Production Design
Anne-Carmen Vuilleumier
Composer
Grégoire Maret
Production
Alva Film
Co production
Fresh Prod, RTS Radio Télévision Suisse
Runtime
Language
Subtitles
Frédéric Baillif
Director
Biography

Fred Baillif directs documentaries and fiction features, including La Mif and A Job Well Done. As a former national basketball player and prison educator, he draws on his background in social work and his intuition to make films rooted in real life. His work blends documentary and fiction, pairing a strong sense of structure with an openness to the unexpected. The people he meets and the lives they share are at the heart of his films.

Filmography

La vie en deux (2009, doc), Believers: Who's Back? (2011, doc), Tant qu'il pleut en Amérique (2013, doc), Tapis rouge (2014, co-dir), La preuve scientifique de l'existence de Dieu (The Scientific Proof of the Existence of God, 2019), La mif (The Fam, 2021), Un travail exemplaire (A Job Well Done, 2026)

Grand Prix for The Best Film, grant of 20 000 euros from the city of Tallinn, Award for Best Director, grant of 5000€ from Alexela

Screenings

1st Lux Hall Apollo Kino Plaza
Screening090117 / Hästi tehtud!
SubtitlesEnglish, Estonian
Q&A guestsFrédéric Baillif (Editor, Producer, Director, Screenwriter), Rebecca Baillif (Cast), Sabbel Ceesay (Cast), Sewit Abadi (Cast), Joanne Giger (Screenwriter)
Q&A duration
Screening duration
Screening104113 / Hästi tehtud!
SubtitlesEnglish, Estonian
Screening duration
Hall 1 Kino Artis
Screening122118 / Hästi tehtud!
SubtitlesEnglish, Estonian
Screening duration
Trailer