Podcasts TV We're Watching What?! We're Interviewing Who?! - Director/Writer Savanah Leaf and Tia Nomore for Earth Mama

We're Interviewing Who?! - Director/Writer Savanah Leaf and Tia Nomore for Earth Mama

Published: July 8, 2023, 10 a.m.

Writer / Director Savanah Leaf and star Tia Nomore discuss their new film, Earth Mama, the importance of found family, media representation, and the challenges of recreating an Oakland sideshow.

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More about Earth Mama

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With two children in foster care, Gia, a pregnant single mother pitted against the system, fights to reclaim her family. In her close-knit Bay Area community, she works to make a life for herself and her kids, in this singular debut feature from filmmaker Savanah Leaf. A glowing breakout at the 2023 Sundance Film Festival.

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Starring Tia Nomore, Erika Alexander, Doechii, and Dominic Fike.

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More about Savanah Leaf

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Savanah Leaf is an Olympian and award-winning filmmaker, whose work weaves magical realism with poignant social commentary. Her latest film The Heart Still Hums (2020) is a short documentary following the stories of five women as they fight for their children through the cycle of homelessness, drug addiction and neglect from their own parents. The film won Best Documentary Short at the Palm Springs International ShortFest, BlackStar Film Festival and Nashville Film Festival and was released with Fox Searchlight Shorts. Her music video \u2018This Land\u2019 for Gary Clark Jr. was nominated for Best Music Video at the 2020 Grammys. Other recent films include: \u2018What\u2019s Going On\u2019, a film made for Marvin Gaye\u2019s 1971 hit song, commissioned by Universal Music\u2019s \u2018Never Made\u2019 series, \u2018Dream\u2019, a film set to Nikki Giovanni\u2019s poem and Flying Lotus\u2019 music, commissioned by the 2020 Biden/Harris campaign; \u2018We Matter Too\u2019, a Webby and Shots award-winning animated visualization of phone calls she conducted with incarcerated people during the COVID-19 Pandemic, commissioned by rapper Common, the ARC and ACLU.\n

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More about Tia Nomore

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Coming up in cypher circles and freestyle battle arenas, Tia Nomore forced her entry into hip-hop\u2019s boys club. The 28-year-old\u2019s claim as Oakland rap\u2019s little sister started as a teenager when she would jump into her older brother\u2019s rap circles and ditch class to record G-funk- inspired hyphy music. Now a fully realized artist and experienced Oakland emcee with three records under her belt \u2014 2019\u2019s Level, 2018\u2019s Gooney Tunes (alongside Bruh from Last Night and MVCK) and 2016 Halloween\u2014 Tia\u2019s fiery wits, lyrical dismantling and command for respect, continue to bring her to new bold artistic territory. The past two years have seen her sharing stages with Princess Nokia and Smino, and releasing singles \u201cDRIP\u201d and \u201cSkirmish,\u201d two addictive collaborations with fellow Town girl and rapper Stoni.

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Earth Mama is in theaters now.

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