This short film illuminates the economic value of mothers’ work and the need for policies in the U.S. to effect life/work balance for mothers.
Mr. Mom
Zsuzsanna Geller-Varga
Hungary
Filmmaker Zsuzsanna Geller-Varga follows a Hungarian family for a year in her documentary, Mr. Mom. The film explores what happens when a family chooses a “non-traditional” path for raising their son, where the mother is the breadwinner, and the father is the caretaker. In following one family’s day-to-day experiences, Mr. Mom also shows how social expectations and traditional gender roles affect identity and family dynamics.
Mom goes to work every day, Dad stays at home with their one-year-old son – how can work and family life be balanced? The documentary Mr. Mom is a portrait of a family facing modern dilemmas.
Mr. Mom follows the family for one year, and visits them again a year later to get a sense of what has changed in their relationships. What was the reaction of Dad’s parents to him taking on the role of primary caregiver, rather than breadwinner? Was the situation where Dad stayed at home and away from work for a year to spend time with their son mutually beneficial for all the members of the family? Or had it taken its toll?
About The Artist
Zsuzsanna Geller-Varga is a documentary filmmaker based in Budapest, Hungary. Geller-Varga began her career as a freelance journalist at various Hungarian newspapers, magazines, and television channels, before she became a news reporter at a daily evening news program in Budapest. She received a master’s degree in journalism in 2000 at the Graduate School of Journalism at the University of California at Berkeley. Learn more at www.zsurlofilm.com.
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