Short of the Week
For many of us, we’ll never truly understand the experience of motherhood and the only way we’ll get a true impression of what it’s like is through the stories of others. Thankfully, the world of short film has us covered in this respect – since mothers are a regular focus of their narratives. For this Mother’s Day, the team here at Short of the Week has assembled a playlist of short films that looks to portray the different stages of motherhood. From those nappy-filled, sleepless nights of the early days to that reflective, ‘where did the time go’ period where your little chicks leave the nest.
This playlist is a tribute to all you mothers – we wouldn’t be here without you!
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The Expecting Mother
There are certain preconceptions about pregnant woman and Rashida Seriki’s Colby looks to disrupt these with its portrait of an expectant mother who strives to ensure her pregnancy won’t define her. An immersive piece, inspired by the director’s own experiences of having a child at 22, Seriki’s film aims to show pregnant women in a new light by positioning her character in scenarios we don’t often see them in on screen.
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The New Mother
There are a number of excellent shorts that capture elements of becoming a new Mother – Neta Cohen’s experimental animation Six to Six and Pola Beck’s hilarious Kleptomami are just two that spring to mind – but none portray the experience as completely as Henriette Rietz’s five-minute animation Wochenbett (Postpartum). They say that those first six months are the most challenging for new mothers and Postpartum perfectly highlights the ups and downs, the joy and pain of this time with such insight and charm it should be mandatory viewing for all expecting mothers.
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The Overwhelmed Mother
Any parent will have that moment in the early years where it all feels like too much. You have to be a master multitasker to even try to stay on top of things and even then, it might not be enough. For Claire, the young stay-at-home mom at the center of Bridget Moloney’s Blocks, when she starts spontaneously vomiting toy building bricks it feels like the perfect metaphor for this situation. With the director revealing she aimed to capture the “general overwhelm that I experienced when I first became a parent”, it’s impressive how much of the motherhood experience Moloney captures in just 11-minutes
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The Worried Mother
As your child gets older, there isn’t less for you to worry about as a mother, if anything the gamut of concerns only increases. Friendships, relationships, jobs, sex – Teemu Niukkanen’s dark-comedy Onko sulla nälkä? (Are You Hungry?) has it all covered. The story of a concerned mom who’s desperate to form a bond with her adopted son, this 12-minute film tackles some serious subjects with a large dose of twisted humor.
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The Reflective Mother
One day your child will leave home, it’s something all mothers will have to accept and although Graham Parkes wonderfully inventive short film Where You Are begins with a mom playing hide and seek with her young child, we soon come to understand it’s really about something else altogether. As she searches for her son James, time begins to slip and soon we’ve progressed through his entire childhood in the space of just 15-minutes. It’s a clever and effective trick and the real emotion of the piece lands with the conclusion as we witness her (and his) life after he leaves home and we begin to understand her emotions towards the situation.
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The Ignored Mother
After your children have flown the coop and carved out their own space in the world, it’s only natural that you’ll begin to feel overlooked or ignored. You sacrificed so much of your life raising them and now you’re lucky if you get a phone call. For Taina, the lead character in Kirsikka Saari’s Super Comfort, all she’s looking forward to is the visit of her son Eetu, so when things don’t go as planned, she doesn’t take it well. An empathetic watch, throughout its 15-minute duration you feel her excitement to welcome her son back, the frustration when her expectations aren’t met and then finally the rush of emotion when someone finally pays her the tiniest bit of attention. It’s an emotional watch and the perfect reminder to phone your mom.
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The Experienced Mother
With age comes experience and that’s perfectly highlighted in Lucy Bridger’s beautiful and moving short film Mothering. The story of a young girl arriving at her new foster home and how her foster parent’s elderly mother comes to her assistance when she has her first period, Bridger’s short was inspired by the filmmaker beginning to understand the influence her grandparents had on her. Employing her documentary experience to bring her story to screen with intense authenticity, Mothering feels like a fitting tribute to both foster moms and the sage-like presence of grandmothers.