MOTHER WOLF,’ STARRING ACADEMY AWARD WINNER MELISSA LEO, SET FOR WORLD PREMIERE AT WOODSTOCK
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Academy Award winner Melissa Leo leads Mother Wolf, the new feature from Emmy-nominated filmmaker Suzi Yoonessi, which will make its world premiere at the Woodstock Film Festival.
The premiere is a homecoming for the fiercely independent film, which was shot in Woodstock, including at Leo’s own home in upstate New York.
Leo stars as Babs, a retired teacher whose life is upended when she is tasked with caring for her free-spirited daughter’s children, testing just how far she will go to protect her daughter’s “cubs.”
The film also stars Kat Cunning, Jodi Long and Arian Moayed, with Mary Stuart Masterson and Matt Walsh.
Written by Yoonessi and Spencer Crossland, Mother Wolf was inspired in part by Yoonessi’s own mother, whom she describes as a “hardworking, fiery and funny immigrant” who would do anything for her family.
“At its heart, Mother Wolf asks a simple question: How far will a mother go when love alone can’t solve the problem?” said Yoonessi. “With Melissa Leo’s fearless performance at its center, the film finds humor, humiliation, ferocity and tenderness in Babs’ answer.”
The film also explores motherhood beyond the traditional parenting years, family responsibility, and sexual awakening later in life.
Mother Wolf previously received a US in Progress post-production award at the American Film Festival.
Yoonessi’s previous feature Unlovable, also starring Leo, won a Special Jury Prize at SXSW. Her debut feature Dear Lemon Lima premiered at the Los Angeles Film Festival. She has also directed for Warner Bros., Netflix and Amazon,spent five years developing and directing an original animated feature at Walt Disney Animation Studios, and is currently a director at LAIKA.
Mother Wolf is produced by Amanda Marshall, Alexander Stegmaier, Melissa Leo and Erika Kennair, with JC Acosta and Ari Tan serving as executive producers.
