What makes a mother? A new animation by Emily Downe exploring matrescence – the hidden metamorphosis of becoming a mother. 30/04/2026
What makes a mother?
A short animation by Emily Downe exploring matrescence, the often unseen and deeply personal metamorphosis of becoming a mother. This film reimagines ancient wisdom for contemporary motherhood, offering language, beauty, and recognition to an experience many feel, but few can name.
A new mother is in a process of radical change – morphing, transforming, transcending. But does anybody see her?
“In my loud and invisible creation, I found that I was Created”
Credits
Directed and designed by Emily Downe
Written by Emily Downe, Chine McDonald, and Lizzie Harvey
Music and sound design by Jan Willem de With (vocals by Lizzie Harvey and violins by Sofia Yatsyuk)
Animated by Martha Halliday and Emily Downe
Voiced by Clover Stroud, Beverly Shepherd and Emily Downe
Produced by Theos with special thanks to Lucy Jones, The Ideas Workshop, Open Society Foundations.
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