Spijtmoeders

Penelope's Condition

January 1976 •English

A reinterpretation of the Greek legend of Penelope, ”the most faithful of wives”, who waited 20 years for her husband Odysseus to return from The Trojan War. In this animation, the two of them are presented in a more modern setting. While Odysseus is busy exploring the universe in his space rocket, Penelope is stuck at home, taking care of the children, showing how traditional gender roles say men should work, while women stay at home.

My Neighbor Totoro

April 1988 •Japanese

Two sisters move to the country with their father in order to be closer to their hospitalized mother, and discover the surrounding trees are inhabited by Totoros, magical spirits of the forest. When the youngest runs away from home, the older sister seeks help from the spirits to find her.

Sieben Mulden und eine Leiche

April 2007 •German

Thomas Haemmerli is about to celebrate his fortieth birthday when he learns of his mother's death. A further shock follows when he and his brother Erik discover her apartment, which is filthy and full to bursting with junk. It takes the brothers an entire month to clean out the place. Among the chaos, they find films going back to the 1930s, photos and other memorabilia.

Mountain Queen: The Summits of Lhakpa Sherpa

July 2024 •English

A Nepali mountaineer risks everything on a record-breaking Mount Everest climb to secure a brighter future for her daughters.

Mother was a CEO

January 2019 •Swedish

The story about how Britt-Marie took back the brush factory from her husband’s cruel brother at the end of the fifties was one of Malin’s childhood fairy tales. Britt-Marie is now 95 years old and trying to set the story straight with the help of her daughter behind the camera. Together they outline a powerful life story that is slowly fading away.

The Look of Silence

November 2014 •English

An optician grapples with the Indonesian mass killings of 1965-1966, during which his older brother was exterminated.

The Feeling of Being Close to You

June 2022 •Chinese

This autobiographical film documents an attempt at healing the trauma of touch between mother and child, as the filmmaker and their mother talk openly for the first time about the intergenerational trauma and abuse within their lives. Present day phone conversations are juxtaposed with archival VHS footage, creating a connection between the past and a re-write for the future.

Mother

May 2023 •English

An overbearing mother struggling to keep a daughter alive after a divorce from her ex-husband.

The Egg and Jerry

March 1956 •English

A lost baby woodpecker, that believes Jerry is its mother, does everything it can to save the mouse from Tom, who is once again in pursuit. A CinemaScope remake of the 1949 Tom and Jerry cartoon Hatch Up Your Troubles.

Empty View

November 2020 •French

Babies at 50

July 2000 •English

In this revealing one-hour special, we look at the lives of older mums and women desperate to become mothers - at any age. Medical experts say that it is now possible for a woman of 80 to have a baby but is it morally and ethically correct? This heart-rending program looks at the difficult choices facing women who want to become mothers late in life and explores the desperate measures they take in order to fulfill their dream.

The Talent Show

April 2023 •Korean

Middle-aged women start acting and launch a drama club. However, nothing big or small goes right. But they never give up the play.

Once My Mother

July 2014 •English

Australian filmmaker Sophia Turkiewicz investigates why her Polish mother abandoned her and uncovers the truth behind her mother's wartime escape from a Siberian gulag, leaving Sophia to confront her own capacity for forgiveness.

The Business of Being Born

January 2008 •English

Birth: it's a miracle. A rite of passage. A natural part of life. But more than anything, birth is a business. Compelled to find answers after a disappointing birth experience with her first child, actress Ricki Lake recruits filmmaker Abby Epstein to explore the maternity care system in America

Gangstresses

February 2000 •English

Gangstresses, a documentary by Harry Davis, tells the story of violence, poverty, and survival in the streets from a female perspective. Over a two-year period, Davis interviews female hustlers, drug dealers, rappers, porn stars, prostitutes, mothers, and daughters. Among them are Champagne, a well-known African American porn star who has a small child; Mama Mayhem, a street hustler; Uneek, a rapper from the Bronx; and Vanessa Del Rio, a famous porn actress. Musicians Lil' Kim, Mary J. Blige, Ice T, and Tupac Shakur also share personal stories of survival. The documentary conducts follow-up research on the women's complicated lives, offering glimpses of both tragic reality and hopeful recovery.

Parents -- Who Needs Them?

January 1973 •English

Jimmy learns to appreciate his parents when a hand puppet dressed as a jester visits him up in the middle of the night and renders him invisible.

Redefining China's Family: Women

July 2008 •English

10 May 2007 - China's staggering economic growth has overshadowed a more subtle shift in Chinese society. In domestic life, many women are now ignore the advice of their mothers and grandmothers, turning instead to counselling hotlines and, increasingly, divorce.

American Thrift: An Expansive Tribute to the "Woman American"

January 1962 •English

Chevrolet presents this tribute to the American woman and her thrifty ways with money. The film also salutes the individuality of the Amerian citizen and the variety of choices we have in the marketplace.

I Named You in Silence

August 2021 •Spanish

The Rastreadoras de El Fuerte are a group of mothers of disappeared persons in northern Sinaloa who, in the absence of the authorities, twice a week go out with picks and shovels in search of the remains of their children; a testimony of the abandonment of the State, the aggressions of the drug traffickers, the indifference of society and the pain, but also of the strength and courage that keep these women together, and of their empowerment to mobilize society in community organization.

Dumbo

October 1941 •English

Dumbo is a baby elephant born with over-sized ears and a supreme lack of confidence. But thanks to his even more diminutive buddy Timothy the Mouse, the pint-sized pachyderm learns to surmount all obstacles.