MR. MOM – documentary film (2009)
Mom goes to work every day, Dad stays at home with their one-year-old son – how can work and family life be balanced?
The documentary Mr. Mom explores what happens when a family chooses a “non-traditional” path for raising their son, where the mother is the breadwinner, and the father is the caretaker. In following one family’s day-to-day experiences, Mr. Mom also shows how social expectations and traditional gender roles affect identity and family dynamics.
Mr. Mom follows the family for one year, and visits them again a year later to get a sense of what has changed in their relationships. What was the reaction of Dad’s parents to him taking on the role of primary caregiver, rather than breadwinner? Was the situation where Dad stayed at home and away from work for a year to spend time with their son mutually beneficial for all the members of the family? Or had it taken its toll?
DVCAM, length: 21 min., 2009, Hungary
Hungarian with English subtitles (original title: Apacsavar)
Featuring
Bernadett Csendom
Csaba Molnár
Ákos Molnár-Csendom
Géza Molnár
Gézáné Molnár
Sound mix
Gábor Lippényi
Editor
Gábor Takács
Cinematographer
Zsuzsanna Gellér-Varga
Klára Trencsényi
Interviews
Ilona Gaal
Producer – composer
Balázs Wizner
Director
Zsuzsanna Gellér-Varga
Supported by
Motion Picture Public Foundation of Hungary
Ministry of Cultural Heritage
MONA Hungarian Women’s Foundation
©2009 Metafórum Film, Zsurló Film Kft.
ILONA GAAL (interviews, script) currently works as a journalist and editor at the Hungarian National Radio. After obtaining her degree in sociology and economy she published articles at Figyelő (economic weekly), at hvg.hu (online economic portal), and Magyar Narancs (political and current affairs weekly). She worked as the deputy editor in chief at “manager magazin” for 2 years.
BALÁZS WIZNER (producer-composer) is the director of METAFORUM Media and Research Center. He graduated as a sociologist, got his Masters degree in Nationalism Studies at CEU (Central European University, Budapest) and has been a Ph.D. student at the Institute of Sociology, Eötvös Loránd University Budapest since 1998. Apart from participating in several research projects and academic activities Balazs Wizner had been the script-writer and co-producer for a short film (Three walks, 2003) and the publisher of two books (A palacsinta hangja The Sound of Pancake. Collected Writings of Gypsy Children from a Ghetto-Village, 1999. A pilóta The pilot. Novel, 2000). His second novel will be published in fall 2005. He was the composer of a theater play and a short film, he plays the trumpet and writes music for his own jazz band. He is currently producing three documentary films.
KLÁRA TRENCSÉNYI (cinematographer) has been making documentaries since 2004. As a cinematographer she worked on The Angelmakers (2005), Secret Years (2009), and directed several documentaries including Corvin Variations (2011), 3 Weddings – Elena and Leo (2009), Birds Way (2009), A Chance (2007). She is committed to creative documentary filmmaking. She organized the first Hungarian creative documentary workshop in Budapest in 2010.
Currently she is working on two feature length creative documentaries as cinematographer and director.
Synopsis
Mom goes to work every day, Dad stays at home with their one-year-old son – how can work and family life be balanced? The documentary Mr. Mom is a portrait of a family facing modern dilemmas.
The filmmaker followed the family for one year and visited them again a year later to get a sense of what has changed in their relationships. What was the reaction of Dad’s Mom and Dad? Was the situation where Dad stayed at home and away from work for a year to spend time with their son mutually beneficial for all the members of the family? Or had it taken its toll?
Events
- 2012. January: Selected for IMOW’s (International Museum Of Women) curated online exhibition Your Voices: On Motherhood, which is the result of a global call for submissions to artists, writers, journalists, and photographers around the world, asking questions related to modern motherhood and on a variety of topics, including motherhood and identity, work, health, pregnancy, alternative mothering, generational differences, and much more. IMOW curated a selection of 30 stories out of nearly 600 submissions received from around the globe.
Selected for finalist in the Community Choice Award!!! FINISHED AT 3rd PLACE! Thanks for your votes! - Screenings:
Child bearing and work-family balance in Hungary and Europe
RECWOWE Dissemination Conference
Organised by the Institute of Sociology, HAS
2010. March 18th 10am-3pm - M1 (Hungarian public TV): 2009. September 29. 14:00
Mr. Mom – a documentary film by Zsuzsanna Geller-Varga on Vimeo.
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