107 Mothers
Serene portrait of life in a Ukrainian women’s prison, inspired by the stories of 107 mothers in Odessa prison.
Lesya has committed a crime of passion which brings her a seven-year sentence in one of Odessa’s women’s correctional facilities, where she gives birth to her first child. Lesya is now entering a world populated only by women: inmates, nurses and wardens, women of all ages, wives and widows, daughters, sisters, pregnant women, and women with children too. If not for the colour of the uniform, it would sometimes be hard to tell who is who.
With several documentaries to his name, Kerekes has made his first fiction film, which does rely heavily on documentary. He was inspired by the lives of 107 mothers in prison, many of whom feature in the film. This gives the film its authentic character. Kerekes does not pass judgment but allows the women their own dignity. In doing so, he provides insight into an underexposed form of motherhood: being a mother in prison.