Southern Circuit Tour of Independent Filmmakers: Mama Bears

March 9 @ 6:30pm: Mama Bears

Q&A with Director immediately following screening (90 minute run time)

Did you know there are more than 32,000 mothers in America—many from conservative, Christian backgrounds—who fully accept their LGBTQ+ children? Spread across the country but connected through private Facebook groups, they call themselves “mama bears” because while their love is warm and fuzzy, they fight ferociously to make the world kinder and safer for all LGBTQ+ people. Although some may have grown up as fundamentalist, evangelical Christians, mama bears are willing to risk losing friends, family, and faith communities to keep their offspring safe—even if it challenges their belief systems and rips their worlds apart.

Mama Bears is an intimate, thought-provoking exploration of the journeys taken by Sara Cunningham and Kimberly Shappley, two “mama bears”—whose profound love for their LGBTQ children has turned them into fierce advocates for the entire queer community—and Tammi Terrell Morris, a young African American lesbian whose struggle for self-acceptance perfectly exemplifies why the mama bears are so vitally important.

The Southern Circuit Tour of Independent Filmmakers connects US-based documentary filmmakers with communities throughout the South for screenings and conversations around important stories and the art of filmmaking. Southern Circuit works with a network of Screening Partner organizations across the region to present screenings alongside Q&As and other community/educational engagements with touring filmmakers. Screening Partners include a range of organizations such as universities, community arts centers, historic cinemas, and more, serving diverse audiences of all ages.

Since Southern Circuit’s inception in 1975, hundreds of filmmakers from around the country have toured, sharing their work and perspectives with over one hundred Screening Partner communities across the South. Southern Circuit is made possible through a partnership with the National Endowment for the Arts.