Earth Mama

Gia is pregnant, alone, and has two children in foster care. To get them back she has to complete the list the court requires: an addiction programme, steady work, suitable housing, never missing a supervised visit. The list is long and every item costs money. At the same time she has to decide about the third child she is about to have. This is Savanah Leaf's first feature. She developed it from The Heart Still Hums, the 2020 short documentary she made with Taylor Russell, which followed five women trying to get their children back. Before coming to film, Leaf played volleyball for Great Britain at the 2012 London Olympics. The film does not present the system as a malicious mechanism; it shows that it is simply heavier than one person can carry. Tia Nomore plays Gia. It premiered at Sundance in 2023 and opened on 7 July 2023. Who it's for: Viewers who like social realism, drama built on motherhood, and slow-paced American independent cinema. Who it's not for: The telling is deliberately still and offers no dramatic resolution. The subject is heavy; this is not a film for anyone wanting ease.