Calling Mother

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.

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.

When Ines died, she left a very particular legacy, 10 books that read 'For my children'; it was the story of her life. Marked by a youth idyllic love, Ines was forced to marry a violent and womanizer man with whom she had 20 children. In the 50s, she managed to get divorce and 20 years after her death, Luisa, great-granddaughter of INES, reads, rescues and makes visible her history.

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.

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

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.

Poland, 1970. When popular protests erupt in the streets due to rising prices, the communist government organizes a crisis team. Soon after, the police use their truncheons and then their firearms. The story of a rebellion from the point of view of the oppressors.

"My mother is spending all her time with her dying father. I’m spending all my time filming her. As the end is getting closer, my mother and I start doing the filming more and more together. It becomes our way of dealing with the time we have left." —Marius Dybwad Brandrud

The filmmaker's mother describes stories of his lustful youth over the phone, causing them to reflect on his current love life at the age of 30.

One of the most fearless and accomplished athletes of her generation, Bethany Hamilton became a surfing wunderkind when she returned to the sport following a devastating shark attack at age 13. As she continues to chase waves she also now tackles motherhood.

Two nine-year-old girls report a flasher to the police even though they never saw him. Three filmmakers meet the only residents of a deserted village - an elderly brother and sister who have not spoken to each other in 16 years. Retired cleaning women are found raped and strangled in a small town. The fiction slowly turns into a documentary.

New light is shed on the complex relationship between Romy Schneider and her mother Magda, a German film star of the 1930s admired by Hitler - who welcomed her and her daughter to his chalet in Berchtesgaden.

Trapped in The Twin Towers on September 11th, thousands of ordinary people struggled to make contact with the outside world. Many knew that time was ticking away. These recorded messages and private calls are the most powerful legacy to the families left behind. Often full of love and dignity they depict humanity at its best and most resourceful in the face of evil.

What's it like to "make a family" when you're not part of the traditional hetero couple? Can two best buddies living on the same floor become a family? Océan and his best friend Sophie-Marie Larrouy will question their friendship, their desire for children and their ability to commit to each other, going to meet people who have made families "differently" to draw inspiration from them and invent their own model.

Love Alone Can’t Make a Child chronicles the love story and emotional odyssey of Maria and Christiane who, for over a decade, have been trying to fulfil their desire of giving birth to a child of their own. The director, a childhood friend of Maria, lovingly narrates the couple's journey, showcasing their resilience in the face of ever-increasing challenges, and the intricate dynamics of a relationship under tremendous strain. More than anything else, the film continually pursues what love truly means in a long-term romantic relationship.

As the months pass through her, Mai gives us a glimpse into old age that explores between being abandoned and being belonged, passing the time and living the time.