“A rich and precious portrait of Black motherhood.”—Lovia Gyarkye, The Hollywood Reporter
Savanah Leaf’s directorial feature debut is an intimate depiction of a mother’s fear and love. Leaf’s elegant visual language interjects lush visions of hope and visceral manifestations of a mother’s deepest concerns to keep her family together.
Gia is a Black young mother fighting for her children in the Bay Area. Her son and daughter are in foster care, and she struggles to work enough hours with court-mandated classes leaving her barely able to make ends meet. Gia dodges Child Protective Services in the fear that they’ll take her soon-to-be-born baby from her as well. Facing an impossible situation, Gia warms to the idea of giving her baby up for adoption, and connects with a well-meaning, middle-class couple who could potentially give the child a better life. Many challenges—especially Gia’s own sense of guilt—lay bare the fact that, for Gia, there is simply no way to win.
Moving performances root the film in authenticity, including that of newcomer and Oakland rapper Tia Nomore, whose Gia is tender, conflicted, and layered. Earth Mama is both a touching film about a young woman grappling with the most fundamental questions of motherhood amid utterly hostile socioeconomic conditions. Official selection of the Sundance Film Festival. 2023, U.S., DCP, 97 minutes. Rated R.