December 2023 Film Watches

Maggie Cheung in Olivier Assayas’s 1996 French-American film Irma Vep. 

During this final month of 2023, I was fully committed to watching films by voices unfamiliar to me in addition to holiday classics, reserving the usual Harry Potter and Home Alone marathons for January. Yet, surprisingly a few new Christmas films weren’t half bad.
Again, Issa Rae’s Hoorae YouTube channel was an ample resource and starting point to my journey, the discovery of Bethiael Alemayoh aka B. B. Araya being a favorite. Definitely plan to write a story on her work. Currently, she debuted a new short film, Dressed at SXSW. The premise is a “former bride-to-be attempts to sell her wedding dress.”
I fell in love with great world cinema such as Lemohang Jeremiah Mosese’s This Is Not A Burial, This Is A Resurrection, Olivier Assayas’s Irma Vep, Maryam Touzani‘s The Blue Caftan and Adam respectively, and Leyla Bouvid’s A Tale of Love and Desire. Plus, I revisited old Hayao Miyazaki’s Spirited Away, weeks after seeing his newest beautiful work, The Boy and The Heron, a must see.
Coincidentally, I ended my film list with Adamma Ebo’s Honk For Jesus. Save Your Soul— a short version of the film I watched back in January.

December Film Watches

1.) “The Golden Chain” (2016) Adebukola Bodunrin and Ezra Claytan Daniels #*+ 9/10

2.) “Sweet Ruin” (2008) Elisabeth Subrin #* 7/10

3.) “T” (2019) Keisha Rae Witherspoon #*+ 8.5/10

4.) “The Blackening” (2023) Tim Story #^ 7/10

5.) “Christmas With A Kiss” (2023) Roger M. Bobb #^ 6.5/10

6.) “Secret Sunshine” (2010) Lee Chang-dong #^ 6.8/10

7.) “Tony Takitani” (2000) Jun Ichikawa #^ 6.8/10

8.) “Vertigo” (1958) Alfred Hitchcock # 7/10

9.) “An Unknown Country” (2022) Morrisa Maltz #* 9/10

10.) “Real Women Have Curves” (2002) Patricia Cardoso *^ 10/10

11.) “Earth Mama” (2022) Savannah Leaf #*^ 9.5/10

12.) “Broadcast Signal Intrusion” (2021) Jacob Gentry # 4/10

13.) “The Blue Caftan” (2022) Maryam Touzani #*^ 9/10

14.) “Dress For Success” (2023) Erskine Forde #^ 8/10

15.) “Adam” (2019) Maryam Touzani #*^ 9.5/10

16.) ”A Tale of Love and Desire” (2021) Leyla Bouzid #*^ 9.5/10

17.) “The Boy and the Heron” (2023) Hayao Miyazaki #^ 9.5/10

18.) ”Christmas Belles” (2019) Terri J. Vaughan #*+ 4.7/10

19.) “Christmas Deja Vu” (2021) Christel Gibson #*+ 5.5/10

20.) ”You Hurt My Feelings” (2023) Nicole Holofcener #* 5/10

21.) “This is not a Burial, it’s a Resurrection” (2019) Lemohang Jeremiah Mosese #^ 10/10

22.) ”Tomorrow Never Dies” (1997) Roger Spottiswoode # 5.4/10

23.) “Hot Girl Winter” (2023) Patricia Cuffie-Jones #*+ 6.8/10

24.) “The Chef’s Wife” (2014) Anne Le Ny #* 6/10

25.) “Boxing Day” (2021) Aml Ameen ^ 7.7/10

26.) ”A Charlie Brown Christmas” (1965) Bill Melendez 8/10

27.) “Rudolph The Red Nosed Reindeer” (1964) Larry Roemer and Kizo Nagashima 7/10

28.) “Garfield Christmas Special” (1987) Phil Roman and George Singer 7.7/10

29.) “Entre Nous” (1983) Diane Furys #* 8.5/10

30.) “Bridget Jones’s Diary” (2001) Sharon Maguire * 6.5/10

31.) “My One Christmas Wish” (2019) James Head # 7.5/10

32.) “Clockwatchers” (1997) Jill Sprecher #* 6.7/10

33.) “The Baker’s Wife” (1938) Marcel Pagnol # 0/10

34.) “Down in the Delta” (1998) Maya Angelou *+ 9.5/10

35.) “Irma Vep” (1996) Olivier Assayas # 9/10

36.) “Ovals: I Don’t Want To Love Myself” (2016) Daquan Saxton #^ 7.8/10

37.) “Gentle Boy” (2023) Caleb Grandoit #^ 9/10

38.) “Solely” (2013) Anna Nersesyan #* 9.5/10

39.) “Dating App” (2019) Maya Table #*+ 9/10

40.) “Beta” (2016) B. B. Araya #*+ 10/10

41.) “Detour” (2018) Daniel Norris Webb # 4/10

42.) “bad news” (2020) Bethiael Alemoyah #*+ 10/10

43.) “yirga” (2019) Bethiael Alemoyah #*+ 10/10

44.) “Spirited Away” (2009) Hayao Miyazaki ^ 10/10

45.) “Good Morning” Yasujirō Ozu #^ 10/10

46.) “Poetry” (2010) Lee Chang-dong #^ 8.9/10

47.) “Happy New Year’s Eve, Charlie Brown” (1986) Bill Melendez 5.6/10

48.) “Hair Love” (2019) Matthew Cherry and Bruce W. Smith #^ 8/10

49.) “Honk For Jesus. Save Your Soul” (2019) Adamma Ebo #*+ 7.7/10


# first time watch

*woman filmmaker

*+Black woman filmmaker

^nonwhite filmmaker

Other notes: list of 49 films, 40 first time watches, 30 films directed/written by nonwhite filmmakers, and 24 films made by women.

Yearly total: 358 films, seven short of my goal of watching 365; 304 first time watches, 260 films directed/written by nonwhite filmmakers, and 172 films made and/or co-made by women.

November 2023 Film Watches

 

Starring Rutina Wesley and LeBaron Foster Thornton, Cierra Glaude’s powerful short film Last Looks was written by Nicholas Ashe, Wesley’s Queen Sugar co-star.

As the sky darkens early in November, my lazier habits come out to play. Although I did not see a single film in the theaters, I checked out several DVDs from my local library aka the last of our human renting experience. 

However, looking back, this wasn’t my favorite film listings of the year, considering the shamefully bad choices made here, primarily a lack of women filmmakers. Not my proudest month despite some great women starring vehicles (Wayne Wang’s dim sum: a little bit of heart remains a treat). Also found a few rare pieces starring one of my favorite actresses Emayatzy Corinealdi. 

November Film Watches

1.) “Kids” (2013) A. V. Rockwell #*+ 8.5/10

2.) “The Dreamer” (2012) A. V. Rockwell #*+ 9/10

3.) “B. L. B.” (2014) A. V. Rockwell #*+ 9/10

4.) “The Kingsman Secret Service” (2017) Matthew Vaughan # 6.5/10

5.) “The Menu” Mark Mylod # 8/10

6.) “Last Looks” (2017) Cierra Glaude #*^ 10/10

7.) “I Knew Her Well” (1965) Antonio Pietrangeli # 10/10

8.) “dim sum: a little bit of heart” (1985) Wayne Wang ^ 10/10

9.) “Floating Weeds” (1959) Yasujirō Ozu #^ 10/10

10.) “Howling” (2012) Yoo Ha #^ 3/10

11.) “Drive My Car” (2021) Ryusuke Hamaguchi #^ 9/10

12.) “Parasite” (2019) Bong Joon-ho ^ 10/10

13.) “Teacher in the Box” (2014) Tanuj Chopra #^ 10/10

14.) “Clap Clap” (2009) Tanuj Chopra #^ 7/10

15.) “Akira’s Hip Hop Shop” (2007) Joseph Doughrity #^ 8/10

16.) “Cordially Invited” (2007) Nicholas Stoller # 5/10

17.) “Addicted” (2014) Bille Woodruff #^ 2/10

18.) “The Silent Treatment” (2012) Martine Jean #*+ 10/10

19.) “Crimson Peak” (2015) Guillermo del Toro # 5.5/10

20.) “A Nightmare On Elm Street 2: Freddy’s Revenge” (1985) Jack Sholder 2/10

21.) “Love, Beats, Rhymes” (2017) RZA #^ 7.7/10

22.) “My Salinger Year” (2020) Philippe Falardeau # 6/10

23.) “M3GAN” (2023) Gerard Johnstone # 6/10

24.) “Simple Passion” (2020) Danielle Arbid #* 4/10

25.) “Last Christmas” (2019) Paul Feig # 4/10

26.) “Wise Blood” (1979) John Huston # 2/10

# first time watch

*woman filmmaker

*+Black woman filmmaker

 

*^ nonwhite woman filmmaker

^nonwhite filmmaker

Other notes: list of 26 films: 23 first time watches, 15 films directed/written by nonwhite filmmakers, and 6 films made and/or co-made by women.

October 2023 Film Watches

 

Kerry Washington as Niecy in Lift. DP: David Phillips.

We’re at my favorite month of the year— birthday times, cozy sweaters, and nothing but warm beverages and scary films, well, sometimes. I started off watching a hip hop classic before it left the Criterion Channel, ending it the same way with A. V. Rockwell’s dearly departing gritty New York City short films. Good things come and go and it’s best to get it in while you can. I also free trialed MUBI again, but only had time for three films. Two contained absolutely horrendous depictions of young women preyed by older men (James Ivory’s Quartet and Alberto Lattuada’s Stay As You Are) while the other— Kit Zauhar’s actual people— almost had a place on my top films of 2023 list. Overall, I enjoyed most of the short films seen on the HOORAE channel, especially Steven Caple Jr.’s A Different Tree, Winter Dunn’s Junebug, and B. B. Araya’s We Are series. Excellent stuff.  

October Film Watches


1.) “Beat Street” (1984) Stan Lathan #^ 7/10

2.) “Krush Grove” (1985) Michael Schultz #^ 6.8/10

3.) “Knock At The Cabin” (2023) M. Night Shyamalan #^ 2/10

4.) “Stella With The Weight Of The World On Her Shoulders” (2015) Christopher Cole # 8/10 

5.) “How To Win” (2016) Rhasaan Nichols #^ 5/10

6.) “The Canterville Ghost” (1996) Sid Macartney # 6.8/10 

7.) “Lift” (2001) Demane Davis and Khari Streeter #*+ 8/10

8.) “We Are— Sisters” (2017) B. B. Araya #*+ 9.5/10 

9.) “The Halloween Tree” (1993) Mario Piluso 8/10

10.) “actual people” (2023) Kit Zauhar #*^ 9/10

11.) “Junebug” (2020) Winter Dunn #*+ 10/10

12.) “We Are— Friends” (2017) B.B. Araya #*+ 8.5/10 

13.) “Quartet” (1981) James Ivory # 1/10

14.) “Stay As You Are” (1978) Alberto Lattuada # 0.5/10

15.) “Room Tone” (2018) Morgan Cooper #^ 8/10

16.) “Sunshine Cleaning” (2008) Christine Jeffs #* 6.8/10

17.) “Our Father, The Devil” (2021) Ellie Foumbi #*+ 8.5/10

18.) “Lavender” (2017) Ed Gass-Donnelly # 4/10

19.) “Kiki’s Delivery Service” (1989) Hayao Miyazaki ^ 10/10

20.) “Ladylike” (2014) Tiffany Johnson #*+ 10/10

21.) “If Beale Street Could Talk” (2019) Barry Jenkins ^ 10/10

22.) “Medicine For Melancholy” (2008) Barry Jenkins #^ 7/10

23.) “The Resort” (2015) Shadae Lamar Smith #^ 8/10

24.) “Nightmare Before Christmas” (1993) Henry Selick 8/10

25.) “dawn.” (2016) Ya’ke Smith #^ 10/10

26.) “The Legend Of Sleepy Hollow” (1949) Clyde Geronimi and Jack Kinney 6/10

27.) “Hocus Pocus” (1993) Kenny Ortega 7/10

28.) “Simply Irresistible” (1999) Mark Torlov 6/10

29.) “Too Much Cendi (Skit)” (2013) A. V. Rockwell #*+ 9/10

30.) “Indigo’s Smile (Interlude)” (2014) A. V. Rockwell #*+ 10/10

31.) “Trey (Interlude)” (2012) A. V. Rockwell #*+ 9.5/10

32.) “Heist” (2012) A. V. Rockwell #*+ 8.5/10

33.) “El Train” (2014) A. V. Rockwell #*+ 10/10

34.) “A City Of Children” (2014) A. V. Rockwell #*+ 8/10

35.) “G. F. C.” (2013) A. V. Rockwell #*+ 8/10

36.) “A Different Tree” (2013) Steven Caple Jr. #^ 10/10

# first time watch

*woman filmmaker

*+Black woman filmmaker

*^ nonwhite woman filmmaker

^nonwhite filmmaker

Other notes: list of 35 films: 29 first time watches, 25 films directed/written by nonwhite filmmakers, and 16 films made and/or co-made by women.

September 2023 Film Watches

 

Patrice (Maxine Turenne) and Laura’s (Laura Guzman) friendship face the ultimate adolescent test in Stefani Saintouge’s Seventh Grade. DP: Brian Diggs.

Autumn meant comfort cinema over hot soups, hot chocolate, and hot tea. It started off with Park Chan-wook’s shocking Oldboy rerelease at the movie theater. I had never seen the twenty-year-old film before, let alone read the comic book, but was well aware of the cult status. Naturally, I saw it twice. Afterwards, I settled in for a few classic Hayao Miyazaki animations in anticipation for The Boy and the Heron coming out later this year and some beautiful short films on Issa Rae’s HOORAE YouTube channel (still highly recommend). I was glad to end with Billy Wilder’s The Apartment on its last day on the Criterion Channel. Funnily enough, however, it is available on Hoopla Digital.

September Film Watches 2023

1.) “Oldboy” (2006) Park Chan-wook #^ 9.5/10

2.) “Fat Girl” (2001) Catherine Breillat #* 3/10

3.) “Cocaine Bear” (2023) Elizabeth Banks #* 2/10

4.) “Dolores Clairbourne” (1995) Taylor Hackford # 9/10

5.) “Batman: Under The Red Hood” Brandon Vietti # 5/10

6.) “See How They Run” (2022) Tom George # 4/10

7.) “The Cat Returns” Hiroyuki Morita #^ (2002) 7/10

8.) “Ghost” (1990) Jerry Zucker 9/10

9.) “My Neighbor Totoro” (1988) Hayao Miyazaki #^ 7.5/10

10.) “Porco Rosso” (1992) Hayao Miyazaki #^ 6.5/10

11.) “The Kingsman Secret Service” (2015) Matthew Vaughan # 7.5/10

12.) “The World of Arietty” (2010) Hiromasa Yonebayashi #^ 7/10

13.) “Good Kisser” (2019) Wendy Jo Carlton #* 2/10

14.) “Year Of The Rat” (2022) Ricky Qi #^ 9/10

15.) “Love At Fifty” (2022) Tan Wei Ting #*^ 9/10

16.) “Seventh Grade” (2014) Stefani Saintonge #*+ 10/10

17.) “Dream” (2015) Nijla Mu’min #*+ 8/10

18.) “Howl’s Moving Castle” (2004) Hayao Miyazaki ^ 10/10

19.) “Home Away” (2013) Hannah Yohannes #*+ 10/10

20.) “The Big Chop” (2016) Derek Dow #^ 7.5/10

21.) “Joy” (2015) Solomon Onita Jr. #^ 10/10

22.) “Inamorata” (2017) A-lan Holt *+ 10/10

23.) “Party Girl” (1995) Daisy von Scherler Mayer #* 7/10

24.) “Vow Of Silence” (2014) Be Steadwell #*^ 9/10

25) “Boyz In The Hood” (1991) John Singleton #^ 8/10

26.) “Poetic Justice” (1993) John Singleton ^ 7.7/10

27.) “Liz And The Blue Bird” (2018) Naoko Yamada #*^ 10/10

28.) “A Backyard In Baldwin Hills” (2021) Dennis Williams III #^ 6/10

29.) “The Apartment” (1960) Billy Wilder # 9.5/10

# first time watch 

*woman filmmaker 

*+Black woman filmmaker 

*^ nonwhite woman filmmaker 

^nonwhite filmmaker 

Other notes: list of 29 films: 25 first time watches, 19 films directed/written by nonwhite filmmakers, and 11 films made by women.

August 2023 Film Watches

Lorraine Touissant, Charli’ Gurl, and Pernell Walker star in Jenn Shaw’s Gaps. DP: Michelle Clementine.

I attended the Twelfth Annual Blackstar Film Festival virtually, watching over thirty films— shorts, documentaries, feature lengths, all wonderful, unique, and profound in their own way. Thus, this beautiful interlude in the final summer month offers cinematic replenishment directed and written by people of color showcasing profound truth. Many of us look forward to this three day weekend to bear witness to the things we either already know (physically or intuitively) or to discover, to relearn the stories and histories that exposes us. We are fully engaged, captivated, healed. 

Furthermore, Blackstar Film Festival continues to offer us reprieve from white centered narratives— at least for a sweet, humble while.  

August Film Watches


1.) “Beneath The Surface” (2023) Cai Thomas #*+ 8/10

2.) “Sol In The Garden” (2023) Débora Souza Silva and Emily Cohen Ibañez #*^ 8/10

3.) “What These Walls Won’t Hold” (2022) Adamu Chan #^ 8/10

4.) “This Place” (2022) V. T. Nayani #*^ 7/10

5.) “Sweatshop Girl” (2023) Selma Cervantes #*^ 9.5/10

6.) “Sundown Road” (2022) M. Asil Dukan #*+ 6.5/10

7.) “Living Proof” (2022) Tina Farris #*+ 8.5/10

8.) “The Vacation” (2022) Jarreau Carrillo #^ 9/10

9.) “The Freedom To Fall Apart” (2023) David A. Gaines #^ 6/10

10.) “A Place of Our Own” (2022) Ektara Collective #^ 8.5/10

11.) “Jonathan Thunder Good Mythology” (2023) Sergio Mata’u Rapu #^ 8/10

12.) “Sydney G. James: When We See Us” (2022) Juanita Anderson #*+ 10/10

13.) “Yo Soy Bella Negra” (2023) Vashni Korin #*+ 10/10

14.) “Fierceness Served! The EnikAlley Coffeehouse” (2021) Michelle Parkerson #*+ 9.5/10

15.) “Here, Hopefully” (2023) Hao Zhou #^ 8.5/10

16.) “The Script” (2023) Brit Fryer and Noah Schamus #^ 6.5/10

17.) “Pandemic Bread” (2023) Zeinabu irene Davis #*+ 9.5/10

18.) “Bone Black: Midwives Vs. The South” (2023) Imani Nikyah Dennison #*+ 9/10

19.) “The Aunties” (2022) Charlyn Griffith-Oro and Jeannine Kayembe-Oro #*+ 8/10

20.) “Mirasol” (2023) Annalise Lockhart #*+ 10/10

20.) “Gaps” (2023) Jenn Shaw #*+ 10/10

21.) “Looking Back At It” (2023) Felicia Pride #*+ 8/10

22.) “Team Dream” (2022) Luchina Fisher #*+ 7/10

23.) “MnM” (2023) Twiggy Pucci Garçon #^ 8.5/10

24.) “Accidental Athlete” (2023) Kevin Jerome Everton and Claudrena N. Harold #+*^ 8/10

25.) “Over The Wall” (2023) Krystal Tingle #*+ 10/10

26.) “Ampe: Leap Into The Sky, Black Girl” (2022) Claudia Owusu and Ife Oluwamuyide #*+ 10/10

27.) “The Alexander Ball” (2022) Jessica Magro #^ 9/10

28.) “Know Your Place” (2022) Zia Mohajerjasbi #^ 6/10

29.) “Spirit Emulsion” (2022) Siku Allooloo #*^ 9/10

30.) “Mother Just a Smile” 2022) Cyrielle Raingou #*+ 10/10

31.) “The After: A Chef’s Wish” (2022) Umar Riaz #^ 9/10

32.) “Sèt Lam” (2022) Vincent Fontano #^ 8.5/10

33.) “Between The Colony and The Stars” (2022) Lorran Dias #^ 8/10

34.) “Crooklyn” (1994) Spike Lee ^ 10/10

35.) “Coconut Head Generation” (2023) Alain Kassanda #^ 9.5/10

36.) “Is My Living In Vain” (2022) Ufuoma Essi #*+ 9/10

37.) “The Space Race” (2023) Diego Hurtado de Mendoza and Lisa Cortés #*+ 10/10

38.) “Conversations With Ruth de Souza” (2022) Juliana Vicente #^ 10/10

39.) “Paid In Full” (2002) Charles Stone III ^ 6/10

# first time watch 

*woman filmmaker 

*+Black woman filmmaker 

*^ nonwhite woman filmmaker 

^nonwhite filmmaker 

Other notes: list of 39 films: 37 first time watches, 39 films directed/written by nonwhite filmmakers, and 26 films made and/or co-made by women.

June & July 2023 Film Watches

 

A scene from Hong Song-eun’s Aloners (2021). 

I combined June and July watches due to watching a handful of films in July. This begins the first of several showings of Celine Song’s Past Lives (saw three times), a few selections from the Criterion Channel’s erotic series (which greatly excluded filmmakers of color and women), and some treasures seen overseas during my time in London— a highlight that includes Dionne Edwards’s underloved Pretty Red Dress and Davy Chou’s Return To Seoul, a favorite from many Best of 2022 Films lists. 

June Film Watches

1.) “Past Lives” (2023) Celine Song #*^ 8.5/10
2.) “Broker” (2022) Hirokazu Kore-eda #^ 8/10
3.) “Return to Seoul” (2022) Davy Chou #^ 8.5/10
4.) “The Hound of Baskerville” (1959) Terence Fisher # 6/10
5.) “Addams Family” (1993) Barry Sonnerfield 7/10
6.) “Past Sins” (2006) David Winning # 3/10
7.) “Pretty Red Dress” (2023) Dionne Edwards #*+ 9.5/10
8.) “Ms. Matched” (2016) Max Jean # 2/10
9.) “Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince” (2001) David Yates 7/10
10.) “Superintelligence” (2020) Ben Falcone # 2/10
11.) “Veracity” (2015) Seith Mann #^ # 8/10
12.) “Dream Lover” (1993) Nicholas Kazan # 5/10
13.) “Single White Female” (1992) Barbet Schroeder # 4.5/10
14.) “You and I and You” (2015) Terence Nance #^ 7/10
15.) “The Couple Next Door” (2020) Abbesi Akhamie #*+ 10/10
16.) “The Last Seduction” (1994) John Dahl # 3/10
17.) “Wild Orchid 2: Blue Movie Blue” (1992) Zalman King # 1.5/10
18.) “Northanger Abbey” (1987) Giles Foster # 7.5/10
19.) “The Assassin” (2016) Hou Hsiao-hsien #^ 6.5/10
20.) “Cinnamon” (2023) Bryian Keith Montgomery Jr. #^ 6/10
21.) “Still Waters Run Deep” (2017) Abbesi Akhamie #*+ 9/10
22.) “Paraya” (2016) Shateel Magen and Martin Morganfield #*^ 8/10
23.) “Gallo Rojo” (2016) Alejandro Fadel and Zamo Mkhwanazi #*+ 8.5/10
24.) “Lokoza” (2016) Zee Ntuli and Isabelle Mayor #* 9/10
25.) “The Beast” (2016) Samantha Nell and Michael Wahrmann #* 8/10
26.) “Beyond Merritt” (2014) Reuben Johnson #^ 6/10
27.) “Aloners” (2021) Hong Sung-eun #*^ 10/10


July Film Watches

1.) “The Perfect Find” (2023) Numa Perrier #*+ 5/10
2.) ”Lying Eyes” (1996) Marina Sargenti #* 2/10
3.) ”The Phone Call” (2013) Mat Kirkby # 8/10
4.) ”Lady Chatterly’s Lover” (1982) Just Jaeckin # 4/10
5.) ”Barbie” (2023) Greta Gerwig # 7/10
6.) ”All That Heaven Allows” (1959) Douglas Sirk 9/10

# first time watch 

*woman filmmaker 

*+Black woman filmmaker 

*^ nonwhite woman filmmaker 

^nonwhite filmmaker 

Other notes: list of 33 films: 30 first time watches, 15 films directed/written by nonwhite filmmakers, and 12 films made by women.

‘Earth Mama’ Pushes A Desperate Mother Into A Poignant Trimester

 

Earth Mama film poster.

Earth Mama comes in threes, a symbolic trifecta perhaps.

Gia, a photographer assistant and former high school basketball player, is expecting her third child, lives with her drug dealing sister, and visits Trey and Shaynah once a week at Children’s Services. The father is neither mentioned or shown, a tragic, heartbreakingly familiar role, showcasing that women like Gia are accustomed to raising offspring either alone or obtaining community support. Three different women impact Gia’s final trimester— her best friend Trina, the sweet, gentle Mel, and the compassionate social worker Miss Carmen.

Gia (Tia Nomore, far right) becomes accustomed to being out of the picture. DP: Jody Lee Lipes.

For example, Gia (Tia Nomore) has to make monitored appearances to Trey (Ca’Ron Jaden Coleman) and Shaynah (Alexis Rivas) instead of being fully in their lives. DP: Jody Lee Lipes.

Trey and Shaynah are Gia’s entire world. She loves them so much. 

Unfortunately, Gia cannot provide the environment that they deserve. Worse, the case worker stares at Gia’s far along belly, discussing the possibility of the newborn joining Trey and Shaynah in the corrupt system. The baby already has a set destiny despite still being in Gia’s womb. Furthermore, Gia’s phenomenal skills at her photography studio gig include her inventive imagination and keen ability to set up beautiful stages that suit individual desires. If only she could bring those masteries into her personal life, build a three-dimensional home from flat backdrops...

Trina (Doechii) does Gia’s (Tia Nomore) hair. DP: Jody Lee Lipes.

Gia’s BFF Trina is also pregnant, seemingly at the same trimester. Gia needs someone who knows and understands what she endures. At first, maternity bonds Gia and Trina together. However, as Gia considers adoption, Trina becomes more and more metaphorical, her heavy words blasting societal determination to breaking the mother’s bond to her child early on. Trina’s spiritual point holds weight, especially considering the sordid American history of separating Black women and their children, selling them off to the highest bidders which later complicates ancestral family trees. Trina then brings in the religious big guns; Christian value philosophy finding itself dangerously nestled into impressionable Black minds. While Gia has ultimately decided to put relationships on hold to concentrate on getting Trey and Shaynah back, Trina pushes Gia into reconsidering options, to still give men a chance, to raise a baby that Gia cannot possibly afford. Trina blinding herself to Gia’s obvious distress, pursuing a “misery loving company” angle, puts their friendship at risk. Trina considers Gia’s moves as an act of betrayal, not an act of benevolence. 

Gia (Tia Nomore) and Mel (Keta Price) walk through nature. DP: Jody Lee Lipes.

One of the most imperative figures in Gia’s life is her friend and neighbor Mel. In light of her grieving her recently departed mother, Mel opens up about her emotional turmoil whilst introducing Gia to a much needed special place away from the men who sit outside hollering at any passing female. In nature, Mel and Gia can breathe fully, divulge their life worries beside the waters and the trees, an escape from their harsh realities. Their scenes showcase another kind of grounding that Gia needs, a calming serenity that nature contains. Plus, Mel is one of the few that expects nothing from Gia whereas Trina wants Gia to keep the baby and Miss Carmen believes that adoption is the best option. Mel genuinely cares about Gia, showing up whenever Gia needs her, taking Gia’s frustrations without blowing back at her, and listening to Gia. Mel is a healing vessel, a moral compass that does not judge Gia for her choices. 

Gia (Tia Nomore) looking through potential families for the baby in her womb with Miss Carmen (Erika Alexander). DP: Jody Lee Lipes.

Miss Carmen, kind and supportive to a class of expectant mothers, has a motive at the end of the day— giving babies fresh homes, fresh starts. A skeptical Gia browses through the pages, humoring Miss Carmen,  The unfortunate parallel is that while Gia loves and cares for her unborn child, questioning ways of ensuring survival, Gia’s baby represents a hopeful beginning for another family. They have generous resources that Gia cannot fully provide, primarily a soon-to-be empty nest, meaning ample room and one on one attention. Yet, Miss Carmen reminds Gia that she has a choice and in the end, is at Gia’s side when Gia needs her. 

Led by a brilliant cast including newcomers Tia Nomore, Doechii, and Keta Price alongside award-winning actress Erika Alexander (whose already receiving acclaim for her supporting role in American Fiction), Savanah Leaf’s refreshing voice revives a deadening industry, a nice, sentimental surprise coming from a former Olympian. The starkly written and directed Earth Mama aligns with the sensitive material explored in Leaf’s earlier documentary short film The Heart Still Hums (co-directed/co-written by actress Taylor Russell). In that emotionally riveting piece, two incredible organizations: Chicks In Crisis and Black Mothers United help five women in Sacramento, California get their lives back on track as they face the brutal consequences of systemic oppression— homelessness, family neglect/abandonment, and limited monetary resources. The women sacrifice just as Gia sacrifices, putting their children’s well being above all else in the world. 

It is highly recommended to watch The Heart Still Hums and Earth Mama together. 

Trina and Gia. DP: Jody Lee Lipes.

Also, similarly to A. V. Rockwell’s A Thousand and One, Earth Mama bravely confronts the foster care system— a problematic, separation tactic that treats individuals sans compassion and grace. Children are more so its victims and not necessarily nurtured towards a brighter future. As part of her agreement to keep seeing Trey and Shaynah— two kids taken care of by unseen strangers— Gia stays clean and works a decent retail job. She’s treated, however, as a prisoner, subjected to urine tests with frequent requests to view her living arrangements. Thus, the mother interacts with her children much like inmates do with their families, for limited time, supervised. Although reasonable and somewhat fair— the children deserve to be in safe, thriving environment— this does highlight the often generational, structural failings for American women who have no college degrees, low income jobs that provide no room for further promotion/substantial wages, and the housing crisis in addition to a lack of sexual education and mental health aid. Even if Gia chased her sports dreams, she would always be hounded by the past, have this blight on her record, and Trey and Shaynah (who already shows signs of resentment) would certainly not forget. 

Overall, Earth Mama doesn’t embellish truths or disguise Gia’s story into a fairy tale ending. Instead, the ambiguous outcome offers a slim glimpse of hope to a young woman and her three precious children—forever judged for merely existing.