CIFF Late EYES OF MY MOTHER web 2

The Eyes of My Mother

Year 2016
Runtime 77 mins

In their secluded farmhouse, a mother, formerly a surgeon in Portugal, teaches her daughter, Francisca, to understand anatomy and be unfazed by death. One afternoon, a mysterious visitor horrifyingly shatters the idyll of Francisca’s family life, deeply traumatizing the young girl – but also awakening some unique curiosities. Though she clings to her increasingly reticent father, Francisca’s loneliness and scarred nature converge years later when her longing to connect with the world around her takes on a distinctly dark form.

Shot in crisp black and white, the haunting – and at times, disturbing – visual compositions of THE EYES OF MY MOTHER evoke its protagonist’s isolation and illuminate her deeply unbalanced worldview. Genre-inflected, but so strikingly unique as to defy categorization, writer/director Nicolas Pesce’s assured feature debut allows us only an elliptical presence in Francisca’s world, guiding our imaginations to follow her into peculiar, secret places.

Countries

United States
Awards
Fantastic Cinema Festival, Grand Jury Award
Festivals
Sundance Film Festival, Seattle International Film Festival, Fantasia International Film Festival
Director
Nicolas Pesce
Executive Producer
Antonio Campos, Sean Durkin, Josh Mond, Avi Stern, Julie Christeas
Producer
Max Born, Jacob Wasserman, Schuyler Weiss
Screenwriter
Nicolas Pesce
Cinematographer
Zach Kuperstein
Production Design
Sam Hensen
Music
Ariel Loh
Cast
Kika Magalhães, Will Brill, Pau Nazak, Diana Agostini, Flora Diaz, Clara Wong