Mother-Child
Niña Mamá
DIRECTED BY: Andrea Testa COUNTRY: Argentina YEAR: 2019 SPOKEN LANGUAGE(S): Spanish SUBTITLES: English RUNNING TIME: 66 min
SEECTION: International Forum
SCREENINGS
SYNOPSIS
In Argentina, every three hours a girl under the age of 15 is forced to give birth. While activists work toward the legalization of safe and free abortion, many young women, often victims of poverty and systemic gender violence, must carry their unwanted pregnancies to term. Shot in the intimacy of a public hospital’s consulting rooms, Andrea Testa’s fly-on-the-wall documentary reveals a few of the stories hidden behind the statistics. Finding the right distance from the teenagers’ faces, which she films in sober black and white, the director observes their interactions with the social workers who try to help them navigate complicated family situations, abusive relationships and the overwhelming realities of young motherhood. Caring and non-judgmental, the staff, who can be heard but not seen, encourage them to imagine a hopeful future despite the fragility of their dreams. (Hot Docs)
BIOGRAPHY
Andrea Testa is an Argentinian-born filmmaker. She made her feature documentary debut with 2016’s PIBE CHORRO. Her 2016 feature film THE LONG NIGHT OF FRANCISCO SANCTIS, co-directed with Francisco Márquez, was awarded as Best International Film at the Buenos Aires International Festival of Independent Cinema. The film was part of the Un Certain Regard program at the Cannes Film Festival and the Horizontes Latinos (Latin Horizons) program at the San Sebastian International Film Festival.
FILMOGRAPHY
El Río (2007), Sea una familia feliz (2009), Uno Dos Tres (2010), The long night of Francisco Sanctis (2016), Pibe Chorro (2016), Mother-Child (2019)
SCRIPT: Andrea Testa, Francisco Márquez PRODUCER: Luciana Piantanida, Andrea Perner, Francisco Márquez CINEMATOGRAPHY: Gustavo Schiaffino EDITOR: Lorena Moriconi SOUND: Abel Tortorelli
WEBSITE: http://www.kinorebelde.com/mother-child/
PRODUCTION COMPANY: Pensar Con Las Manos (pensarconlasmanos@gmail.com) WORLD SALES: Kino Rebelde (distribution@kinorebelde.com)
