Geo- Blocked to the United States and Canada
Mama Bears (2022) Special Screening GBFF2023 ONLY-U.S.A & Canada-ONLY
Mama Bears (2022)
Did you know there are more than 32,000 mothers in America, many from conservative, Christian backgrounds, who fully accept their LGBTQ+ children? They call themselves "mama bears" because while their love is warm and fuzzy, they fight ferociously to make the world kinder and safer for all LGBTQ+ people.
Mama Bears (2022)
Special Screening GBFF2023 ONLY-U.S.A & Canada-ONLY
Limited Time Only! Available from Dec 26, 2023 through Jan 09, 2024
Did you know there are more than 32,000 mothers in America, many from conservative, Christian backgrounds, who fully accept their LGBTQ+ children? They call themselves "mama bears" because while their love is warm and fuzzy, they fight ferociously to make the world kinder and safer for all LGBTQ+ people.
Director Biography - Daresha Kyi
Daresha Kyi is an Emmy Award–winning director who also writes and produces film and television in Spanish and English. She most recently directed a short documentary for Time Studios and the SpringHill Company called GEORGIA GOING BLUE about the Georgia-based grassroots organizations working to fight voter suppression in Georgia and throughout the country. She is currently in post-production on BLACK VOTERS MATTER, a feature documentary which chronicles Clif and April Albright’s and LaTosha Brown’s rise from aspiring acolytes to game changing civil rights leaders and the critical role they played in helping Georgia flip from red to blue in 2020 and 2021.
In 2018 Daresha was commissioned by the ACLU to direct TRANS IN AMERICA: TEXAS STRONG which garnered over 3.5 million views online, premiered at SXSW and went on to win the News & Documentary Emmy Award for Outstanding Short Documentary as well as two Webby Awards.
In 2017 she co-directed and co-produced CHAVELA a multiple award-winning Spanish language documentary about iconic, lesbian ranchera singer Chavela Vargas ranked the “Number One Latin American Documentary of the Decade” by CineArte magazine and produced DISPTACHES FROM CLEVELAND.
Daresha’s films have been funded by IDA, ITVS, NEA, NYSCA, and numerous others. A former fellow in the Firelight Media Documentary, Chicken & Egg Eggcelerator, Creative Capital, and A Blade of Grass programs, Daresha has an extensive background producing content for FX, WE, AMC, Telemundo, and FUSE, among other networks.
Please tell us your motivation for making your film:
As a queer, politically progressive African American woman, I never imagined I’d have much in common with conservative, white, Christian women — until I learned about the mama bears. I’m deeply intrigued by the journeys these women have taken to become not just minorities, but even social outcasts. In the face of religious, familial, and social judgment and condemnation, they opt to do the hard, often painful work of learning to view the world through fresh eyes. When they emerge into the light, many become fierce warriors who fight tooth and nail for the rights of the very communities they once abhorred. So many mothers have become such ferocious advocates for people they once scorned as unnatural “abominations” that you have to wonder what could possibly cause such radical transformation? Only love. Love for their LGBTQ+ children forces these mothers to challenge, dissect, and dismantle their core beliefs and even abandon their churches in search of deeper, more meaningful truths. Love shatters their illusions, expands their hearts, and leads them to embrace not only their own offspring and the entire LGBTQ+ community, but all marginalized people. I believe I was chosen to tell this story not only because I am a versatile storyteller with numerous awards for my narrative and documentary films and television programs, but because I am a true believer in the all-encompassing power of love. In fact, I consider myself a “Warrior of Love” who believes it is my responsibility to do everything within my power to shift the balance in our world away from death, destruction, and hatred and toward stronger, deeper love. It is my deepest hope that MAMA BEARS will inspire viewers to greater acceptance through the examples set by these humble but powerful women and their all-consuming, soul shaking LOVE. It is a profound honor to use my art to amplify their message of love and inclusion and help spread the mama bears’ movement.
What is the theme of your submission?:
LGBTQ+, Social Justice
Daresha Kyi
Director
CHAVELA
Laura Tatham
Producer
Project Type:
Documentary
Runtime:
1 hour 27 minutes 30 seconds
Country of Origin:
United States
Country of Filming:
United States
Language:
English
Shooting Format:
HD
Aspect Ratio:
16:9
Film Color:
Color
First-time Filmmaker:
No
Student Project:
No
- Year2022
- Runtime01:27:30
- LanguageEnglish
- CountryUnited States
- Subtitle LanguageEnglish
- DirectorDaresha Kyi
- ProducerLaura Tatham
Geo- Blocked to the United States and Canada
Mama Bears (2022) Special Screening GBFF2023 ONLY-U.S.A & Canada-ONLY
Mama Bears (2022)
Did you know there are more than 32,000 mothers in America, many from conservative, Christian backgrounds, who fully accept their LGBTQ+ children? They call themselves "mama bears" because while their love is warm and fuzzy, they fight ferociously to make the world kinder and safer for all LGBTQ+ people.
Mama Bears (2022)
Special Screening GBFF2023 ONLY-U.S.A & Canada-ONLY
Limited Time Only! Available from Dec 26, 2023 through Jan 09, 2024
Did you know there are more than 32,000 mothers in America, many from conservative, Christian backgrounds, who fully accept their LGBTQ+ children? They call themselves "mama bears" because while their love is warm and fuzzy, they fight ferociously to make the world kinder and safer for all LGBTQ+ people.
Director Biography - Daresha Kyi
Daresha Kyi is an Emmy Award–winning director who also writes and produces film and television in Spanish and English. She most recently directed a short documentary for Time Studios and the SpringHill Company called GEORGIA GOING BLUE about the Georgia-based grassroots organizations working to fight voter suppression in Georgia and throughout the country. She is currently in post-production on BLACK VOTERS MATTER, a feature documentary which chronicles Clif and April Albright’s and LaTosha Brown’s rise from aspiring acolytes to game changing civil rights leaders and the critical role they played in helping Georgia flip from red to blue in 2020 and 2021.
In 2018 Daresha was commissioned by the ACLU to direct TRANS IN AMERICA: TEXAS STRONG which garnered over 3.5 million views online, premiered at SXSW and went on to win the News & Documentary Emmy Award for Outstanding Short Documentary as well as two Webby Awards.
In 2017 she co-directed and co-produced CHAVELA a multiple award-winning Spanish language documentary about iconic, lesbian ranchera singer Chavela Vargas ranked the “Number One Latin American Documentary of the Decade” by CineArte magazine and produced DISPTACHES FROM CLEVELAND.
Daresha’s films have been funded by IDA, ITVS, NEA, NYSCA, and numerous others. A former fellow in the Firelight Media Documentary, Chicken & Egg Eggcelerator, Creative Capital, and A Blade of Grass programs, Daresha has an extensive background producing content for FX, WE, AMC, Telemundo, and FUSE, among other networks.
Please tell us your motivation for making your film:
As a queer, politically progressive African American woman, I never imagined I’d have much in common with conservative, white, Christian women — until I learned about the mama bears. I’m deeply intrigued by the journeys these women have taken to become not just minorities, but even social outcasts. In the face of religious, familial, and social judgment and condemnation, they opt to do the hard, often painful work of learning to view the world through fresh eyes. When they emerge into the light, many become fierce warriors who fight tooth and nail for the rights of the very communities they once abhorred. So many mothers have become such ferocious advocates for people they once scorned as unnatural “abominations” that you have to wonder what could possibly cause such radical transformation? Only love. Love for their LGBTQ+ children forces these mothers to challenge, dissect, and dismantle their core beliefs and even abandon their churches in search of deeper, more meaningful truths. Love shatters their illusions, expands their hearts, and leads them to embrace not only their own offspring and the entire LGBTQ+ community, but all marginalized people. I believe I was chosen to tell this story not only because I am a versatile storyteller with numerous awards for my narrative and documentary films and television programs, but because I am a true believer in the all-encompassing power of love. In fact, I consider myself a “Warrior of Love” who believes it is my responsibility to do everything within my power to shift the balance in our world away from death, destruction, and hatred and toward stronger, deeper love. It is my deepest hope that MAMA BEARS will inspire viewers to greater acceptance through the examples set by these humble but powerful women and their all-consuming, soul shaking LOVE. It is a profound honor to use my art to amplify their message of love and inclusion and help spread the mama bears’ movement.
What is the theme of your submission?:
LGBTQ+, Social Justice
Daresha Kyi
Director
CHAVELA
Laura Tatham
Producer
Project Type:
Documentary
Runtime:
1 hour 27 minutes 30 seconds
Country of Origin:
United States
Country of Filming:
United States
Language:
English
Shooting Format:
HD
Aspect Ratio:
16:9
Film Color:
Color
First-time Filmmaker:
No
Student Project:
No
- Year2022
- Runtime01:27:30
- LanguageEnglish
- CountryUnited States
- Subtitle LanguageEnglish
- DirectorDaresha Kyi
- ProducerLaura Tatham
