Whether doting, nurturing, or struggling, the maternal figure shapes our world. Motherhood Unscripted explores the compassionate, often quiet sacrifices that define motherhood. This local shorts festival brings together narratives about the bond between parent, child, and community highlighting how care work shapes our collective understanding of humanity.
Evening Highlights:
Four short films produced local filmmakers
Two engaging panel discussions
Light pours of Brooks Winery’s Riesling, a woman-operated winery, paired with light bites
Short Film Lineup:
Blue, Directed by Chelsea Hall (13 min. runtime)
A new mother must overcome physical and mental exhaustion to get through an endless night. This film is about the isolation and pain that often comes with new motherhood. How does one find support and care when giving everything to their new child?
To'oborni, Directed by Lara Bedewi (12 min. runtime)
Tensions rise at home when Salma's family braces for a visit from Lebanese relatives. After not having seen them in over 20 years, her mother and teta return to Middle Eastern traditions in order to impress. However, as a high school senior struggling with her own identity, Salma must choose between being the daughter her mother wants to present to them, and being herself.
Expanding Sanctuary, Directed by Kristal Sotomayor (21 min. runtime)
Expanding Sanctuary follows an immigrant mother who becomes a powerful community leader in the fight to end police data-sharing with ICE. The film captures her transformation from personal desire to bring her mother to the U.S. into a passionate, collective movement for immigrant rights and family protection.
No Way Home, Executive Produced by Kris Henderson ( 30 min. runtime)
No Way Home traces the story of Lorraine Haw, known as Mrs. Dee Dee, as she grapples with the trauma of living on both sides of the epidemic of gun violence in Philadelphia. This short film, created by the Amistad Law Project, captures a mother’s story having to navigate trauma, gun violence, and the criminal justice system in Philadelphia to bring her son home.