Film hasn’t often been kind to young Black mothers like Gia in “Earth Mama.” Too often, women who are struggling to do the best they can for their children are blamed for their own circumstances. The presumption is they have squandered their opportunities to live and do better, but the problem, as “Earth Mama” illustrates, is too often they haven’t been given shoes, let alone bootstraps.
Born and raised in the Bay Area, Gia (played by Tia Nomore) is a young mother whose two children have been taken by the state. That means she gets to see them only an hour a week during supervised visits. On top of that, she is weeks from delivering another child. Still, despite being on the brink of labor, she makes those visits, and as the film shows, that is, in and of itself, a feat that should be applauded, even as others frequently dismiss her efforts as not enough.
At a time in her life that should bring so much joy, Gia is instead fighting a battle against poverty and invisibility. The lack of resources available to her, despite being on the state’s radar as a young woman in need of parenting classes and general support, is astounding. Erika Alexander (“Wu-Tang: An American Saga”) plays Miss Carmen, who leads many of those classes and is someone Gia can maybe trust. Through her, Gia dares to admit that she cannot care for her latest child and is open to exploring adoption.
That revelation doesn’t sit well with Gia’s bestie Trina (Doechii), who is also pregnant, which turns one person who had been a source of emotional support into yet another stressor. For Trina, motherhood is God-given, even in the midst of tremendous struggle, and as such, she refuses to accept the idea of Gia giving up her child. The tension between them reaches such a level that Gia begins actively avoiding her until they meet up in a social setting, one which viewers will likely note as one where two pregnant women should not be.
What makes “Earth Mama” especially noteworthy is Leaf’s subtle social commentary. Rather than telling us how society is failing young Black women, Leaf shows it. Gia is absolutely trying her hardest; despite being very pregnant, she continues to work. And while she’s clearly intelligent and thoughtful, however hard Gia wants to improve her situation, she just can’t. There are too many forces against her, and that pressure leads to desperation, manifesting in everything from her efforts not to relapse to being forced to steal necessities for her unborn child.
Gia’s decision to explore an open adoption brings in potential parents played by Sharon Duncan-Brewster (“Enola Holmes 2”) and Bokeem Woodbine. In keeping with her Bay Area roots, which encourage Black pride, Gia insists that the adoptive family be Black. But as “Earth Mama” demonstrates at every turn, trying to do the right thing is never easy.
Setting the film in the Bay, where the realities of Oakland and San Francisco can dramatically differ, is key to Leaf’s story. To the outside world, this area is probably considerably more open-minded and more supportive than most, yet it too fails to uplift and help the least among us. Gia’s work at the local photo studio in the mall frequented by people of color sets up a collective desire for a world and a reality that is largely unattainable.
Filmmaker Savanah Leaf, an Olympic athlete who represented Great Britain in volleyball during the 2012 Olympics, began her career making music videos, and her feature debut reflects her ability to transmit great emotional depth in small snapshots. She includes natural elements (the beach, the forest) that provide some sense of relief for Gia and maybe even the audience, but the point is not the magical realism some will see. Instead, Gia retreats into nature or her hallucinations of retrieving tree bark from the navel of her pregnant belly — her connection to the natural world is powerfully captured by cinematographer Jody Lee Lipes (“The Good Nurse”) — speaks to how life should be. In a world where one should feel nourished and sustained, Gia and so many like her just aren’t.
Lead actress Tia Nomore stuns in her feature film debut; as a mother herself who has trained to become a doula, she brings an intense sensitivity to Gia. Her eyes and body show a young woman trying not to crumble under the weight of the world, and Nomore infuses Gia with the presence that the performer herself has brought to spoken-word and rap ciphers. Nomore’s strength offers the sense that Gia will not give up fighting, regardless of the pressures placed upon her.
That real-life resiliency provides a powerful emotional undercurrent to this tragedy. By putting a mirror to Gia and placing us in her feet, shoes or not, Leaf beckons viewers to contemplate how contemporary society fails its Gias every single day, to face how this cycle of poverty continues, and to understand that Gia and women like her can’t conquer it alone.
“Earth Mama” makes its world premiere at the 2023 Sundance Film Festival.