The Mothers’ House

The Mothers’ House
South Africa 2005 76min Subtitles
Dir: Francois Verster

Charming and precocious, Miche Moses is a normal, conflicted teenager, but she lives in Bonteheuwel, on the Cape Flats where opportunity is frustrated by poverty, joy by anger, and love by violence. Miche’s mother, ex-Struggle activist Valencia, is proud and beautiful but unemployed, single and expecting her third child. Valencia’s mother, Amy, is a powerful, dominant matriarch who is the sole provider. As the birth of Miche’s sibling approaches, Valencia’s hormones rage out of control and so does her fiery temper and violent impatience. Navigating the tension that bounces off her at home, whilst doing her chores and schoolwork, Miche is pulled between her love for both her mother and her grandmother. At the same time, she must make her sense of the confusing and often violent world around her.

Best Documentary.
Cape Town International Film Festival 2005,
Premio Diocesi di Milano. Milan African, Asian and South American Film Festival 2005
Courtesy of the SABC and the Director