88 minutes / Color
Closed Captioned
Release: 2025
Copyright: 2025
A MOTHER APART follows acclaimed poet, performer, and activist Staceyann Chin (Def Poetry Slam, MotherStruck!) on a deeply personal search for her biological mother, who abandoned her as a child in Jamaica. Now a mother herself, Staceyann wrestles with the question: how do you raise a daughter when your own mother left you behind? Spanning Brooklyn, Montreal, Cologne, and Jamaica, her journey blends raw honesty, archival imagery, and vivid animation to trace decades of longing, pain, and resilience. As she seeks connection with the mother who didn’t raise her, Staceyann grapples with the legacy of abandonment and the radical possibility of forgiveness. Alongside her daughter Zuri, she reimagines what family, home, and healing can look like.
"A remarkably matrilineal piece, speaking about pain and forgiveness, about being victimized without becoming a victim." Rebecca M. Alvin, Provincetown Magazine
"A Mother Apart is about a kind of forgiveness, albeit a messy, sad one. But even more, it's about finding a voice." Janet Smith, Stir Arts & Culture
"This extraordinary portrait of a woman haunted and scarred by abandonment turns into a tale of real strength and joy." Susan G. Cole, POV Magazine at Hot Docs
"A courageous exploration of abandonment, identity, and the enduring pull of family." Frameline
"Laurie Townshend has brilliantly constructed an exploration of Chin's intentional parenting." Elisabetta Bianchini, Yahoo News
"Chin retraces her mother's steps in documentary A Mother Apart to better understand who her mother was while reflecting on what kind of a mother she wants to be to her own child in this deeply personal journey of motherhood." Andrew Murray, The Upcoming
Coming soon.
A MARC record for this title is not available yet.
Selected Accolades
