Savanah Leaf’s Film ‘Earth Mama’ Navigates Race, Class and Motherhood in Oakland

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KQED

News Commentary, News, Politics

4.2 • 727 Ratings

🗓️ 3 August 2023

⏱️ 56 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Savanah Leaf’s debut feature-length film “Earth Mama” follows Gia, a pregnant 24-year-old single mother of two who is struggling to get her kids back from the foster care system and weighing whether to keep her baby. Set and filmed in Oakland, the film explores Black motherhood, community, and the challenges of escaping cycles of trauma and poverty. Leaf based the film on her short documentary, “The Heart Still Hums,” which also focuses on the stories of young mothers trying to keep their children. We talk with Leaf about capturing the Bay Area’s essence in the film and the personal experiences that inspired it. Guests: Savanah Leaf, director, "Earth Mama." Leaf is also the director of the documentary short, "The Heart Still Hums." She was nominated for a Grammy for her music video "This Land" for Gary Clark, Jr. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcript

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0:46.3	Music From KQED. From KQED in San Francisco, I'm Alexis Madrigal.
0:50.2	Savannah Leaves' debut feature film Earth Mama is a beautiful close-up portrait of Gia Wilson,
0:55.8	a young woman struggling to get her kids back from the foster care system amidst the chaos of early 2000s, Oakland.
1:02.5	The film explores black motherhood, community, and the challenges of escaping cycles of trauma and poverty.
1:08.9	It's based on a documentary that Leaf co-directed called The Heart Still Humps.
1:12.6	Part of the research she did not only to make the film,
1:14.6	but to understand her own life.
1:17.6	Leif's family adopted a baby from a young mother
1:19.6	in difficult circumstances when she herself was a teenager.
1:23.6	We'll talk with her about the film,
1:25.6	what she's learned about the system, and her family's own healing.
	...

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