New Hope Cinema wants the community to get ready for The Mother of All Shows — a feature length film/musical about mothers, daughters, and the complexities of familial relationships.
Directed and co-written by Melissa D’Agostino (who also acts in the leading role), the musical feature follows Liza who must come to terms with the impending death of her estranged mother, Rosa, who is played by Wendie Malick. To help her cope, Liza retreats to her mind and reimagines her life as a 70’s variety show hosted by her mother who “leads an all-singing, all-dancing cast of players from Liza’s past and present. Scene by scene, song by song, Liza works through parts of their past during an attempt to visit her mother without losing herself in the process.”
“We had a few screenings in the U.S.A. and I’ve had people come up to me and say, ‘you know that reminds me of my relationship with my mom.’ Or, ‘that’s my story,’ or, ‘that’s my situation with my kid’,” said D’Agostino. “And that has been really satisfying because part of the goal was to present a different kind of mother daughter relationship and a different kind of journey to go on. That isn’t necessarily the kind of mother daughter relationship we’re used to seeing.”
The film is based partly off of D’Agostino’s own experiences with detangling from and cutting out toxic family members, the story explores grief, narcissm, and the relationship between mothers and daughters. D’Agostino said the film is full of laugh-out-loud moments, catchy tunes, and emotional beats that will have viewers thinking about their own relationships with their families.
This is the movie’s first screening in B.C. and D’Agostino’s first film to be shown in Hope.
Showtimes for the film are taking place March 14 to March 17 and March 19. Hope locals will also be able to meet with D’Agostino and some of the cast on March 14 and March 17.
Tickets can be purchased online at newhopecinema.com or in-person at the door.
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@KemoneMoodley
kemone.moodley@hopestandard.com
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