It’s Mother’s Day season here in North America (and a good 40+ other countries around the globe), and we wanted to take a moment to thank all the mamas out there. Moms, you easily have the coolest / hardest job on the planet, and somehow you make it seem easy.
Motherhood looks like so many things, and it spans so many powerful emotions. And this year we looked to our incredible filmmaking community to capture breadth of that inexplicable thing called a Mother’s Love. Here are a few films that portray the beautiful, complex, and hilarious role of being a mother.
Jay-Z — Smile
Jay-Z’s single, “Smile,” tells the true story of his mother, Gloria Carter. She raised Shawn Carter (a.k.a. Jay-Z) and his siblings in Brooklyn’s low income housing, while she kept a huge part of herself a secret. Gloria was a closeted lesbian, and she hid that for a long time. Miles Jay was commissioned to make this video, and he beautifully captured Gloria’s sorrow, hardship, and her unwavering love for her family. Jay’s video could easily stand as a masterpiece on its own without the music, but the beat also happens to come from one of the greatest living artists. So you should probably just press play.
espnW "Run Mama Run"
“Can you really have both worlds?” That’s the pointed question a lot of people like to ask mothers about balancing their dreams and their families. And Sarah Brown is the very inspiring answer to that. Sometimes, motherhood looks like an unexpected pregnancy when you are training for the Olympic games. Directed by Daniele Anastasion for espnW and ESPN Films, “Run Mama Run” is a multi-part documentary about elite runner Sarah Brown. Brown is running through every stage of her pregnancy to compete in the Olympic trials just a few months after giving birth. And she has no idea if she’ll qualify. You can also watch all five episodes on Vimeo.
Mom Commercial
The pressures of motherhood are so real. And everyone seems to have an endless supply of unsolicited advice. You can’t help but feel like you could be doing more. Or maybe that you’re doing too much. And then, one day, you find out the orange juice you’ve been giving your kids contains too much sugar and you lose it. You skip town and wind up in the seedy underground crime scene of Arizona, and the nemesis of a woman named Puka. Cole Escola and Doron Max Hagay deliver this satirical — certifiably bonkers — reprieve from the conventional “mom” narrative. This one gets very weird, very quick, in the best of ways.
3,000 Miles
“3,000 Miles” isn’t simply an incredible testament of a mother’s love. Our curation team picked this one out of thousands as the best travel film of the year. Sean Wang weaves his mother’s voicemails into a New York portrait that’s as much about the city as it is about unconditional love. These gorgeously shot vignettes are an endlessly rewatchable chronicle filled with an outsider’s wonder and a mother’s warmth.
Stems
We’ll end with a contribution of one of our very own, very awesome, Vimeo moms (shout out to all our amazing Vimeo mamas!). Our COO, Courtney Sanchez, shared what she likes to watch with her family. Her reasoning is a perfect note to close with. “Here’s a recent one that we added to our playlist. While we all love videos, kids definitely need a break from screen time. I love how this little piece inspired my girls to find their inner creative spirit and make creatures out of ordinary objects found around the house.” – Courtney Sanchez
