Earth Mama (15)

★★★★✭ "An unflinching, authentic portrait of when motherhood, sisterhood, and womanhood converge with class and race." ~ Roger Ebert.

Savanah Leaf’s directorial feature debut is an intimate depiction of a mother’s fear and love.

Gia is a young mother fighting for her children. Her son and daughter are in foster care, and now her unborn child could also be taken away. Struggling to work enough hours with court-mandated classes, she’s barely making ends meet. Gia loves her children unconditionally, but how will she give them the future they deserve?

 Leaf’s elegant visual language interjects lush visions of hope and visceral manifestations of Gia’s deepest fears into her everyday life.

Moving performances root the film in authenticity, including that of newcomer Tia Nomore, whose Gia is tender, conflicted, and layered. The warm texture of the film envelops us in Gia’s reality, while a knowing score smiles at the beauty of everyday moments .

Between the backdrops of Gia’s counseling classes and portrait studio job, Leaf crafts a story that redefines perspectives and asks us to bear witness to vulnerability and the desire to be seen. Leaf’s permeating vision brings fullness and complexity to Gia, reclaiming her humanity and honoring the different forms love can take.