MOTHERBOARD

Motherboard is a smartphone feature exploring motherhood, filmed over 20 years by BAFTA award-winning director Victoria Mapplebeck. The film charts the trials, traumas and occasional triumphs of raising a child alone. It’s a celebration of messy lives and proof that epic journeys can begin and end at home.

BAFTA award-winning director Victoria Mapplebeck has spent 20 years filming the joy, pain and comedy of raising her son Jim alone

At the age of 38, Victoria 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. Victoria first began documenting their lives with her old DVCAM before shooting almost daily on five generations of smartphones, from the iPhone 6 to the iPhone 13. She recorded hundreds of hours of footage, capturing each twist and turn in Jim’s life, from the thumbs-up he gave during her first scan, to his first day at college.

MOTHERBOARD is a celebration of messy lives, solo motherhood, and proof that epic journeys can begin and end at home. Over two decades, Victoria captures a life where breast cancer, absent fathers and depression are part of the package, but where life still wins every time. And where everything will be fine as long as you don’t lose your sense of humour.

Motherboard is the antidote to the judgmental and unrealistic expectations we have about motherhood, creating an honest, funny and relatable film for any mother who has wept tears of both joy and frustration.

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.