Look at Us Now, Mother!

A humorous, moving, intimate and courageous film following the transformation of an abusive mother and tumultuous mother-daughter relationship to that of acceptance and love as we follow the personal story of the filmmaker.

In My Nose, filmmaker Gayle Kirschenbaum introduced us to her critical mother in a humorous short film about her mom's quest to get her to have a nose job. Barely touching the surface of their most highly complex and charged relationship (The Washington Post wrote, “if you do [have a mother like Gayle's], get thee to a psychotherapist"), Kirschenbaum knew it was time to go deeper. Audience members all over the world related to Gayle’s story and wanted to know the secret. How is she able to accept and even love her mother who is so disapproving of her? The answers are told in a motivational seminar she now gives on transforming difficult relationships.

The long, miraculous and poignant journey is told in her new film, LOOK AT US NOW, MOTHER. What emerges is a uniquely cinematic, courageous and intimate family study with both humor and pathos in the midst of conflicts and affections that bind mother and daughter.

Gayle turned on her own cameras starting in 2003 to tell this story. In the midst of shooting, her father died, changing the dynamics of her relationship with her mother. They head off alone together and start traveling the world. Gayle keeps cameras on as they travel through countries, continents, time zones, ticking clocks and emotional mine fields.

From birth, Gayle's life was documented on 8mm film footage, which will be incorporated skillfully into the film. You'll see her early years when her mother liked to dress her up like a doll to show off to the neighbors through her teenage hippie years with her thick, frizzy hair, a source of contention for her parents. She traces the growth of her nose into its present day manifestation while commenting on poignant moments of a young girl’s life.

Although dealing with a serious and universal subject, the film's tone will be funny,sharp and insightful. Her self-reflective and quick-witted personality, along with her often unpredictable, wild behavior of her mother, who is almost a carbon copy of Woody Allen's mom, is what drives this film.

The result is an entertaining, informative, inspiring and enlightening film that will touch audiences worldwide.

We will have Q & A’s after the following screenings:

Monica Film Center:
Fri., April 8, 7:20 pm show: Dr. Mark Goulston, psychiatrist and author
Sat., April 9, 7:20 pm show: Shirley Hirschberg, social worker, Beth Chayim Chadashim
Sunday, April 10, 7:20 pm show: Gayle Kirschenbaum, director & Rabbi David Wolpe, spiritual leader, Sinai Temple
Monday, April 11, 7:20 pm: Shayna Lester, marriage and family therapist
Tuesday, April 12, 4:30 pm: Gayle Kirschenbaum, Director, 7:20 pm: Carole Isenberg, Co-Founder The Mother Lode Workshop with Gayle Kirschenbaum, Director
Wednesday, April 13 and Thursday, April 14 @ 7:20 p.m: Sylvia Thompson, President, National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) Westside

Town Center Five, Encino:
Saturday, April 9, 5:00 pm show: Walter Jacobson, MD, therapist and life coach
Sunday, April 10, 5:00 pm show: Gayle Kirschenbaum, director & Rosalyn Kahn, author & public speaker
Sunday, April 10, 7:30 pm show: Dr. Judy Rosenberg, founder, Psychological Healing Center
Monday, April 11, 2:40pm, 5:00pm & 7:30 pm: Gayle Kirschenbaum, director
Tuesday, April 12, 2:40 pm: Gayle Kirschenbaum, Director