“Mama”, interview with the director Or Sinai

A quiet but powerful portrait of displacement, femininity, and the elusive meaning of home, Or Sinai’s debut feature Mama had its Special Screening at the 78th Festival de Cannes.

A Story Born from Real Encounters

“Mama” follows Mila, a 50-year-old Polish immigrant who, after years working for a wealthy family in Israel, returns to her native village in Poland—and to the family she left behind. But the homecoming is far from simple. As Sinai explains, “She thinks she belongs to both homes… but actually, it’s not true.”

The film was inspired by Sinai’s real-life experience. “My mother has Parkinson’s, and a few years ago they took in an immigrant worker… I started talking to her, and she told me stories about her lover in Israel and her family in Ukraine.” Those conversations sparked a fascination with the inner lives of women often viewed only through the lens of sacrifice or service.

Beyond the Clichés: Mila as a Woman, Not Just a Migrant

Sinai resists the typical narrative of the suffering caregiver. “We’re used to seeing immigrant women as poor, sacrificing… but Mila has desires, femininity. She didn’t let go of herself.” That emotional complexity is what makes Mama feel so layered. It’s not just about return—it’s about the haunting dissonance between who you were, who you’ve become, and who you pretend to be.

A Film Built on Dualities

The production itself reflects Mila’s split identity. Sinai worked with separate costume and production design teams in Israel and Poland. “It didn’t make sense that an Israeli designer would build a Polish home, and vice versa,” she notes. The contrast between these worlds isn’t just visual—it’s emotional, cultural, and deeply human.

The houses in the film become symbols of belonging and illusion. “She has this illusion that she belongs to all of them, but slowly all of it collapsed.” Sinai once considered calling the film Home—but the eventual title, Mama, carries its own irony. “She wants to be the best mother but she doesn’t know how to do it. The word has this warmth… and Mila is the opposite of that.”

A Visual Language of Intimacy

Sinai and cinematographer Matan Radin created a visual style that draws us into Mila’s emotional world. “We let the actors move freely, and only then built the camera around them,” she says. The result is an organic intimacy—sometimes raw, sometimes distant—that mirrors Mila’s inner tension.

The Fragility of Filmmaking

Making “Mama”  wasn’t easy. The film was originally set in Ukraine before the war broke out in 2022. “Our co-producer went to the military. We lost funding. It was tough to believe in cinema again.” On top of that, Sinai directed in a language she didn’t speak. “I’m a control freak… but when I let go, it was beautiful. You don’t need the words—you feel the emotions.”

Redefining ‘Home’

In a final reflection, Sinai touches on what “home” means to her now: “Especially now, with what’s happening in Israel… home is not so clear. But maybe it’s about being true to your instincts. About finding yourself.”

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