MOTHERBOARD

a film by Victoria Mapplebeck

“Think Richard Linklater’s Boyhood crossed with Kirsten Johnson’s Cameraperson. It’s a magic spell of a film: a remarkable example of how filmmaking and montage can capture the essential essence of a life.” – JOHN NUGENT, EMPIRE

-“Tender, intimate, funny and entirely absorbing” – PETER BRADSHAW, THE GUARDIAN

-“Joyous, lovely..a rich and gladdening film, a screen mosaic about children and parenthood made from a well of memories.”- DANNY LEIGH, FINANCIAL TIMES

-“Terribly moving…A must-see.” FILM OF THE WEEK
MARIA DUARTE, THE MORNING STAR

-“A powerful, no-frills portrait of single motherhood. ANTONIA GEORGIOU, THE UPCOMING

-“Honest, funny and endearing.”
GAVIN SPOORS, FILMHOUNDS

“A candid, unsentimental, perceptive and profoundly moving portrait of the highs and lows of motherhood.” – WENDY IDE, SCREEN DAILY

“Warm, frequently funny and ingeniously made.” – SASKIA BARON, SIGHT AND SOUND

“Film-making at its most unfiltered, unflinching and authentically human.” – MATTHEW D’ANCONA, GOOD HOUSEKEEPING

A film by Victoria Mapplebeck

-“Tender, intimate, funny and entirely absorbing” – PETER BRADSHAW, THE GUARDIAN

-“Joyous, lovely..a rich and gladdening film, a screen mosaic about children and parenthood made from a well of memories.”- DANNY LEIGH, FINANCIAL TIMES

-“Terribly moving…A must-see.” FILM OF THE WEEK
MARIA DUARTE, THE MORNING STAR

-“A powerful, no-frills portrait of single motherhood. ANTONIA GEORGIOU, THE UPCOMING

-“Honest, funny and endearing.”
GAVIN SPOORS, FILMHOUNDS

“A candid, unsentimental, perceptive and profoundly moving portrait of the highs and lows of motherhood.” – WENDY IDE, SCREEN DAILY

“Warm, frequently funny and ingeniously made.” – SASKIA BARON, SIGHT AND SOUND

MOTHERBOARD is a smartphone feature exploring motherhood, filmed over 20 years by BAFTA award-winning director Victoria Mapplebeck. It charts the joy, pain and comedy of raising a child alone.

At the age of 38, Victoria Mapplebeck found herself single, pregnant and broke. Unable to combine motherhood with freelance directing, she was forced to abandon her career in TV, instead turning the camera on herself and her son, Jim.

Filmed over two decades, Victoria has recorded hundreds of hours of footage, capturing each twist and turn in Jim’s life, from the thumbs-up he gave her during her first pregnancy scan to his first day at college

MOTHERBOARD charts the real-life comedy and the roller coaster of solo parenting. Victoria captures a life where both she and Jim survive her breast cancer diagnosis, two generations of absent fathers and Jim’s rollercoaster teen years

MOTHERBOARD navigates the highs and lows of unromanticized parenting, where chaos rules. Honest, funny and infinitely relatable, MOTHERBOARD is the antidote to the unrealistic expectations we have about motherhood, and a film for anyone who wants to see family life in all its unfiltered glory.

Motherboard is made by First Person Films in partnership with OKRE and Autlook Filmsales. It’s filmed, directed and edited by Victoria Mapplebeck and executive produced by Debbie Manners. Motherboard will be released in cinemas in 2025.