Discarded in death as they were in life.

Mother & Baby had a visceral impact on me and gives voice to those who have had none, while drawing us into its steady, strong gaze. It’s still with me and will stay with for a very long time. Nick Costello, Publicity & Promotions Manager at Warner Bros. Pictures

Mia Mullarkey's documentaries are hard-hitting, poetic and powerful and really capture the emotion of the strong subjects she chooses.
Jason Foran, Chair of the Discovery Award Jury at Dublin International Film Festival

I saw Mia's latest short documentary ‘Mother & Baby’ when it premiered at the Cork Film Festival last year. The film depicts the horror of Ireland’s mother and baby homes and is a really important piece of work. When the credits rolled, I remember feeling a palpable sense of appreciation from the audience for the warmth and maturity of Mia's storytelling. Frank Berry, writer/ director of Michael Inside

Ishka Films presents MOTHER & BABY - a short documentary by Mia Mullarkey

MOTHER & BABY had it's world premiere at Cork International Film Festival 2017 where it was awarded Best Short Documentary. Following this the film was awarded Best Irish Short at Dublin International Film Festival 2018, and director Mia Mullarkey received the Discovery Award. At São Paulo International Short Film Festival 2018 and Irish Film Institute Documentary Festival 2018 the film won an Audience Award.

This short documentary is a poetic and psychological portrayal of survival. From 1904 to 1996 children of unwed mothers in Ireland were raised in Mother & Baby Homes run by Catholic nuns. In these homes the child mortality rate was staggeringly high and a secret mass grave containing 796 infant remains was discovered in one of the homes. After many years of research, local woman Catherine Corless disclosed the story of the home in Tuam to the world.

Revealing the children's perspectives, including powerful archive recordings, and portraying the discovery of 796 infant remains, this documentary offers a painful yet cathartic insight into the cruel business of Irish Mother & Baby Homes. MOTHER & BABY bears witness to three of the 35,000 Home Children; Peter, Pat and Carmel, who were forcibly separated from their mothers and eventually fostered out. The documentary also follows Catherine's work in bringing the truth to light.

Contributors:
Catherine Corless
Carmel Larkin
Peter Mulryan
Pat Duffy
Kathleen Mulryan
Sadie Cramer

​
Credits:
Writer/ Director: Mia Mullarkey
Producer: Alice McDowell
Cinematographer: Aidan Maguire
Composer: Anna Mullarkey
Additional Cinematography: Kevin Minogue
Editor: Mirjam Strugalla
Sound Mixer: Simon Murphy 
Re-Recording Mixer and Sound Editor: Peter Blayney
Colourist: Donal O'Kane
Photographer: Maurice Gunning
Musicians: Anna Mullarkey & Juliana Erkkonen  
Music Mastering Engineer: Liam King
Online: Warren Dowling
Executive Producer: Emma Scott
Shorts Co-ordinator: Jill McGregor
Project Managers: Mary Callery & Keith Potter
Production Company: Ishka Films
Post-Production Company: Screen Scene
​Funder: Irish Film Board

Director's Statement:
​This short documentary, funded by the Irish Film Board, brings us into the world of children who were taken from their unwed mothers, something which occurred on a nationwide scale in Ireland. Having spent time with Catherine Corless, the woman who uncovered the story and grew up beside the Tuam Home, I became interested in the emotional landscape of the children living in the home. As people who were stolen from their mothers and seen as outcasts by their peers and carers, I hoped to enter the inner world of those survivors during that time. Alongside this portrayal is Catherine’s story, that of a tireless woman who fought for years to give voice to those 796 children who passed away unceremoniously.

FESTIVALS

Best Short Documentary - Cork Film Festival 2017
Best Irish Short - Dublin International Film Festival 2018
Discovery Award - Dublin International Film Festival 2018
Audience Award - São Paulo International Short Film Festival 2018
Audience Award - Irish Film Institute International Documentary Festival 2018
Finalist - Goldentree International Documentary Film Festival 2018
Official Selection - Palm Springs International ShortFest 2018
Official Selection - Tehran International Short Film Festival 2018
Official Selection - Galway Film Fleadh 2018
Official Selection - Helsinki International Film Festival 2018
Official Selection - The Smalls Film Festival 2018
Official Selection - Margaret Mead Film Festival 2018
Official Selection - Fastnet International Short Film Festival 2018
Official Selection - Clare Island International Film Festival 2018
Official Selection - Semana Internacional de Cine de Valladolid – Seminci 2018
Official Selection - In-Short Film Festival 2018
Official Selection - Barquisimeto International Film Festival 2018