Eleven years ago Savanah Leaf competed at the London games as a member of Team GB’s first ever Olympic volleyball team. But to hear the London-born, Oakland-raised film-maker tell it now, that was nothing compared to the pressure of making her first feature film. “It was really tough,” she says to the Guardian. “At times I was looking around like, damn, how are we going to finish today?”
That A24-stamped indie – Earth Mama – hits US theaters this weekend after a warm reception at the Sundance Film Festival. And, well, “tough” is definitely one way to sum up this 100-minute heart render. Another: Gia, a pregnant single mother, is straining to recover from past drug use and the two small children put in foster care as a result, and barely has strength remaining to keep pushing.
