'Earth Mama' director Savanah Leaf on the entrapment of the foster care system

'Earth Mama' director Savanah Leaf speaks about the making of her first feature, and the entrapment of the foster care system.

Recent Blog Dec 9, 2023 0 52 Add to Reading List

'Earth Mama' director Savanah Leaf on the entrapment of the foster care system

Director Savanah Leaf smiles against a pink and blue background. Left from her is a poster of Earth Mama with a silhouette of a pregnant woman with the film title below her in pink.

Olympian-turned-filmmaker Savanah Leaf sat down with Mashable UK Editor Shannon Connellan to talk about her debut feature Earth Mama.

"I challenge people to walk beside Gia and experience her world as she’s going through it in this film," Leaf said.

The A24 film follows young single mother Gia (Tia Nomore) as she navigates through pregnancy while fighting for custody of her children against a dehumanising foster care system.

Notably, Leaf uses poetic surrealism to "tap into what it feels like to be in [Gia's] body – connecting to her baby, as well as her ancestors and the lineage of Black women that came before her."

How to watch: Earth Mama is now in cinemas in the UK and streaming on Paramount+ in the U.S.