Despite the quarantine...
We Wish you the Happiest Mother's Day
We have a long and beautiful history of mothers and daughters at Rocky Mountain Women’s Film. From filmmaker’s bringing their mother’s or daughter’s to share in the experience at the Festival to generations of women attending our events to share with grandma, mom and granddaughter. We also have a great group of Festival daughters that grew up around the Rocky Mountain Women’s Film, and now they are lifelong ambassadors of our community of film-loving women. (Yes, we still love our film-watching men, but it’s about the mom’s today.)
We've gathered a list of films to share this Mother's Day with your mom, daughter, grandmother, friend and neighbor!
Plus, enjoy some small insights from our Executive Director, Linda Broker on some of the films.
Bird by Bird with Annie
Directed by Frieda Lee Mock
Documentary | 54 minutes | Apple (rent)
A portrait of the best-selling author and laugh out-loud funny humorist Anne Lamott (Plan B, Bird by Bird, Traveling Mercies, Operating Instructions, Crooked Little Heart) and the inspiring story of a survivor — a recovering alcoholic and single mother who is a born-again Christian and liberal activist.
This film was my first introduction to Anne (21 years ago – yikes!) and remains one of my all-time favorite biopics.
Complaints of a Dutiful Daughter
Directed by Deborah Hoffmann
Documentary | 44 minutes | Kanopy (free) Vimeo (rent)
With profound insight and a healthy dose of levity, the Academy Award-nominated COMPLAINTS OF A DUTIFUL DAUGHTER chronicles the various stages of a mother’s Alzheimer’s Disease and the evolution of a daughter’s response to the illness.
I found this film to be an incredibly touching portrait of the filmmaker’s commitment to her mother, and her ability to find the humor in an otherwise sad situation while always remaining respectful of her mom.
Do I Have to Take Care of Everything?
Directed by Selma Vilhunen
Comedy | 7 minutes, subtitled | YouTube (rent)
A chaotic morning in a family with kids, including a mother who is determined to take care of everything alone.
Every mother of young children (present or past) is sure to connect with this moment in time captured by this Academy Award winning film.
Martha and Ethel
Directed by Jyll Johnstone and Barbara Ettinger
Documentary | 77 minutes | Vimeo (rent)
MARTHA & ETHEL is a story that you don’t see very often, perhaps because it shows the flip side of the privileged lifestyle. It is the story of 2 lifelong nannies and the two families they worked for in Manhattan and Greenwich, Connecticut from the 1940’s up to the 1990’s. The film follows the nannies and their relationship to the families’ children for a lifetime. It is a look at mothering from not only a sociological, but also a very personal and emotional point of view.
Motherland
Directed by Ramona S. Diaz
Documentary | 94 minutes | Kanopy (free), YouTube (rent)
MOTHERLAND takes us into the heart of the planet’s busiest maternity hospital in one of the world’s poorest and most populous countries: the Philippines.
As you weave your way through the sea of laboring women, what initially appears to be utter chaos gradually reveals that there is a method to the madness. However, I still watched most of the film slack-jawed in disbelief!
My Mother Dreams the Satan’s Disciples of New York
Directed by Barbara Schock
Comedy | 33 minutes | Vimeo (free)
A widowed Midwestern housewife travels to Manhattan for the first time to visit her daughter. Once there, she becomes obsessed with the Hell’s Angels-ish bikers’ club across the street from her daughter’s East Village apartment.
A true crowd-pleaser, this 2000 Oscar winner has definitely stood the test of time.
NANA
Directed by Serena Dykman
Documentary | 100 minutes | Kanopy (free), Apple (rent)
Maryla Michalowski-Dyamant, born in Poland, survived Ravensbruck, Malchow, and Auschwitz, where she was the forced translator of the “Angel of Death”, Dr. Mengele. She dedicated her post-war life to publicly speaking of her survival to the young generations, so that it would never be forgotten or repeated. Alice and Serena, her daughter and granddaughter, explore how Maryla’s fight against intolerance can continue today, in a world where survivors are disappearing, and intolerance, racism and antisemitism are on the rise.
Rafea: Solar Mama
Directed by Jehane Noujaim
Documentary | 75 minutes, subtitled | YouTube (free)
RAFEA: SOLAR MAMA follows the groundbreaking journey of one Bedouin mother living on the Jordan-Iraq border who, along with thirty illiterate grandmothers from around the world, will travel to The Barefoot College in India to become Solar Engineers.
A totally inspiring story about women who are committed to making a better life for themselves and their families. After watching this film you might just realize how much you take for granted next time you go to flip on a light switch.
Pushing the Elephant
Directed by Beth Davenport and Elizabeth Mandel
Documentary | 90 minutes, partially subtitled | Cultureunplugged (free)
Pushing the Elephant tells the extraordinary story of a mother and daughter reunited after a decade separated by civil war. In the late 1990s, Rose Mapendo lost everything to the violence that engulfed the Democratic Republic of Congo. She emerged from the suffering advocating peace and reconciliation. But after helping numerous victims to rebuild their lives, there is one person Rose must still teach to forgive – her daughter Nangabire.
Real Women Have Curves
Directed by Patricia Cardoso
Comedy/Drama | 90 minutes | YouTube (rent)
The story of a first generation Mexican-American girl and her passage to womanhood. Although she wants to go away to college, she must battle against the views of her parents, who think she should stay at home and provide for the family. As a compromise, she works with her mother in a sewing factory over the summer and learns some important lessons about life, helping her make a decision about her future.
The Triumvirate
Directed by Jean Strauss
Documentary | 15 minutes | Vimeo (free)
The story of three generations of women separated from each other by adoption and the effect that reconnecting has on their lives.
Funny, touching and inspiring – guaranteed to lift your spirits!
