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NEW SHORTS: Mother
18:30 Mon 9 Jan 2017
A powerful programme of drama probing the matriarchal head of the family, whether ‘good,’ overpowering or trying her best under extreme circumstances. From the earthquake ruined city of Kathmandu to life in post-Communist Siberia, to the world of piñatato’s in Mexico, meet a host of mothers: -to-be, despairing, ageing and joyful. Watch out for Zawe Ashton, Jo Hartley and Chloe Pirrie.
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MAMA - SAINT SEBASTIAN
Alexander Mercury 17 mins (UK, 2016)
Mother is 80, her son Seva - 60. That's the whole family right there. Seva has nothing left - the purpose of his life is looking after his elderly mother. On top of all the chores, there's migraines. Suddenly, mother dies. With liberation should come freedom but, alas, he goes to see a doctor who tells him that his mother had tried to get rid of him in his infancy by driving a needle into the fontanel, a soft spot at the top of the cranium. This unbearable truth turns his life upside-down. How to forgive? How to find humility and the strength to carry on? -
LITTLE SOLDIER
Stella Corradi 15 mins (UK, 2016)
Anya lives with her mother Amanda who suffers from addiction, forcing Anya into the role of carer and provider. She works for Derek, a drug dealer who wants to keep Anya and Amanda under his control. However, Anya takes matters into her own hands, with darkly comic consequences. Told entirely from Anya’s perspective, the harsh realities of her life are punctuated with moments of colour and imagination, to suggest a sense of hope and the magic of a child’s resilience to life’s difficulties. -
THE GOOD MOTHER
Sarah Clift 6 mins (MX, 2016)
A Mexican woman is torn between her politics and pleasing her only son’s request – to have a Donald Trump piñata for his birthday party. -
RACE
Yan Dan Wong 3 mins (UK, 2016)
Medicine, shower, eat, sleep, repeat. A daughter races to tend to her elderly mother’s daily needs. Until one day when she cannot take it anymore and refuses to attend to her mother, the racetrack breaks. -
CRUMBLE
Pauline Lam 12 mins (UK, 2016)
A mother's idiosyncratic farewell dinner for her 18-year old daughter results in disaster as they confront a decision made in desperation with devastating consequences. -
THE ARRIVAL
Daniel Montanarini 4 mins (UK, 2016)
Anna contemplates a big decision while waiting for someone in a cafe. -
GIBBERISH
Nathalie Biancheri 12 mins (UK, 2016)
On Christmas Eve, after a silent year of absence, a daughter returns home. Afraid to lose her, afraid of her, her Mother tries to break down her daughter’s wall of secrets and lies. A portrait of misunderstanding and missed opportunity when words crackle and fade like a broken frequency that will never reach its destination. -
CHANDRA
Fateme Ahmadi and Asmita Shrish 15 mins (UK, 2016)
Chandra walks through earthquake-hit Kathmandu with his grandfather, to visit his mother and newborn sibling in hospital. What awaits them at the end?