In Color

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

"I challenge people to walk beside Gia and experience her world as she’s going through it in this film."
 By 
Shannon Connellan
 and 
Teodosia Dobriyanova
 on 
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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.
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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.

Topics Film Social Good

A photo portrait of a journalist with blonde hair and a band t-shirt.
Shannon Connellan
UK Editor

Shannon Connellan is Mashable's UK Editor based in London, formerly Mashable's Australia Editor, but emotionally, she lives in the Creel House. A Tomatometer-approved critic, Shannon writes about entertainment, tech, social good, science, culture, and Australian horror.

Picture of Teodosia
Teodosia Dobriyanova
Video Producer

Teodosia is a video producer at Mashable UK, focussing on stories about climate resilience, urban development, and social good.


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