After years of helping other people make movies, director/producer/editor Jennifer Steinman made her own and created one of the year’s indie hits. Her documentary, “Motherland,” recounts the experience of six American women who come to terms with the death of their children while caring for HIV/AIDS orphans in Africa. Read on to learn how Jennifer is using digital platforms to share this moving story with the world and make her filmmaking mark.

 

Ultimately, this film is a story about the universal experience of grief, which we have all either dealt with or must anticipate dealing with in our lifetimes. We all have questions about what it means to “heal” when you lose someone you love and about how we can find hope and positive meaning after a tragedy. One of the most common reactions to the film is that it’s an immensely positive film, one that inspires hope, and that’s something everyone relates to.  

 

 

We are experiencing a defining moment in the distribution of independent film. Many of the "traditional" models are no longer an option for many of us or simply not that attractive because of their limited reach. With Gigantic, people can watch the film on their home computer in amazing quality for only $2.99. That’s the most powerful thing sites like Gigantic are doing for filmmakers — giving us a way to really make our films available to a much bigger audience, and ultimately, allowing the message of the film to have a much more widespread impact.

 

 

In terms of digital platforms, we are primarily using Facebook and our website to reach our audience. But the film has such a sensitive subject matter, it’s difficult to get the messaging just right. My new favorite line I use to describe “Motherland” is: "An honest and intimate look at the complexities of grief and healing, 'Motherland' is about resilience, triumph of the human spirit and the power of unconditional love." I strive to get that message out to as many people as possible. I wish I could say I've mastered it, but there are challenges — for example, how do you tweet about grief?

 

 

Smush Media is a collaboration with my longtime friend and creative partner Geralyn Pezanoski, the director of an amazing film called "MINE: Taken by Katrina." We were both working in corporate film and video for many years, and we really wanted to find a way to make films that mattered, in addition to just collecting a paycheck. We also knew so many other talented, creative people who felt the same way, so we came up with Smush Media — bringing together all of these creative talents and "smushing" them together into something that could really make a difference in the world. "Motherland" and "MINE" are our first two documentary films; both premiered at South by Southwest this year and won the two Audience Awards, so I'm happy to say we're off to a good start! We have a couple of new projects we are pitching now, so hopefully this is just the beginning for us.

 

 

I think the inequality in the film world is just mirroring the history of inequalities in the world at large, and as people work together to transform society we will continue to see every industry open up to women and other minorities in new and exciting ways. For me, the only real secret is to just keep making films, and to strive to make them better and better every time. There are so many organizations and support structures out there for women filmmakers now; we have to utilize our resources and keep trudging forward. Girls just can't afford to quit on their dreams — as a dear friend and fellow filmmaker always says, “Just MAKE THE MOVIE!”

 

For more on Jennifer’s movie, “Motherland,” visit Motherland-theFilm.org.