A Cradle to Hold Me
“Nuala Fowler takes her mother’s addiction to collecting china, as well as her interest in plants, as a starting point for a deeper exploration into personal memories and the changing dynamic of a mother-daughter relationship. Impressively disciplined in her avoidance of sentimentality, Fowler manages well to capture a woman that exists beyond the parameters of motherhood.”
— Michael Pattison, Creative Director of Alchemy Film & Arts
A Cradle to Hold Me teaser.
In my final year dissertation documentary, made in lockdown and entitled after Maya Angelou's poem of the same name, I explore the nature of my relationship with my mother through linking past and present. Dealing with concepts of memory and maternal love, I explore the shift in focus over time from viewing my mother as a purely maternal, yet world-encompassing, figure, to a person in her own right. Through the act of filming, I aim to change the dynamic of the relationship to focus on the parent rather than the child, in an effort to learn more about my mother beyond that of her maternal role.
One of three winners of the Newcastle University Rita Hayworth Prize for Best Film Dissertation.
Director, filmmaker and editor: Nuala Fowler.
Archive footage filmed by the filmmakers father, Desmond Fowler.
A Cradle to Hold Me (2020) poster designed by Nuala Fowler.
