“You Are Not My Mother”: Her missing mom is back but some dark secrets are to uncover

In a North Dublin housing estate, Char’s mother goes missing. When she returns Char is determined to uncover the truth of her disappearance and unearth the dark secrets of her family. This is the main plot of the horror drama You Are Not My Mother (2021), a movie that mixes family dark secrets with the always mystical Irish folklore.

It’s the week before Halloween. Char’s bedridden mother, Angela, has mysteriously gone missing. All that remains is her abandoned car parked in the middle of a field. When Angela returns home to their North Dublin estate the following evening without explanation, it becomes clear to Char and her grandmother, Rita, that something is amiss. She might look and sound the same, but Angela’s behavior has become increasingly erratic and frightening as if she has been replaced by a malevolent force. As Halloween approaches, a night steeped in ancient Irish myth and legend, Char must unearth the dark secrets of her family in order to uncover the truth behind her mother’s disappearance and save her, even if it means potentially losing her forever.

This is the debut feature film of writer and director Kate Dolan after a few award-winner short films including Little Doll (2016), nominated for the Crystal Bear at the Berlin International Film Festival, and horror story Catcalls (2017).

The main cast for You Are Not My Mother (2021) is formed by Hazel Doupe, Jade Jordan, Paul Reid, Carolyn Bracken, Ingrid Craigie, Jordanne Jones, Katie White, and Aoife Spratt.

The director Kate Dolan has said about her film “My intention with You Are Not My Mother (2021) was to create a frightening film that depicted an authentic coming of age experience while also tapping into the dark folk history we have in Ireland (the birthplace of Samhain/Hallowe’en). In the past, people who were believed to be changelings were burned alive. The flame was thought to expel the faery doppelganger that had taken their place. These tales I grew up hearing always stuck with me. […] I wanted to capture a moment in time when you are forced to grow up fast and even though the weight of the world can be placed on your young shoulders you are also still patronized and treated like a child. Family secrets are still kept from you, and in the world we have created in You Are Not My Mother (2021) that can be fatal”.

The movie had its premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival, and after that, it has been part of the Dublin International Film Festival, where it was nominated for several main awards, the Gérardmer Film Festival, winner of the Jury Prize for Best Film, and the Gothenburg Film Festival.

Magnolia Pictures has the distribution rights for the movie and it has scheduled it for a limited theatrical on March 4, 2022, and a digital release on platforms like AppleTV, Amazon Prime Video, DirectTV, Google Play, VUDU, and others, on March 25, 2022. Watch here the official trailer of You Are Not My Mother (2021).