- Welcome to Independent Lens.
I'm Pete Schwaba, host of PBS Wisconsin's Director's Cut.
Since I've been a parent, I've been around many moms,
many protective moms,
and I've heard the phrase "Don't Mess with Mama Bear" a lot
and I wouldn't dare.
Especially not the ones we'll meet in tonight's film
appropriately titled, Mama Bears.
The Mama Bears are a group of moms
who love and accept their LGBTQ+ children unconditionally.
Most of you are probably not surprised
because that's what moms do.
But some of the mothers in tonight's film
were deeply entrenched in their conservative Christian beliefs,
which created conflict when they realized
that their Christian community
was not as accepting of their kids,
forcing the parents to choose
between their children and their church.
The film focuses on two mothers in particular,
Sara and Kimberly, whose passion and devotion
to their own children being accepted,
has made them advocates for the entire queer community.
We'll also meet one of the women the moms took in,
an African American lesbian named Tammi Terrell Morris.
Morris's own mother is a devout Christian
who struggled to accept Tammi's coming out.
Morris says they still struggle today
to find common ground
but that their relationship is ever evolving.
Luckily, Morris found that initial unconditional acceptance
with the Mama Bears.
And she's not the only one.
Membership in the Mama Bears
has grown from an estimated 2,000 members in 2017
to over 32,000 today,
thanks in part to secret social media groups
and good old-fashioned pounding the pavement.
It also doesn't hurt to have an award-winning film
help spread the word.
Emmy Award winning director Daresha Kyi
first learned about the Mama Bears
from an article on Huffington Post.
After reaching out to the group,
she quickly learned that there was lots of enthusiasm
by the moms to tell their story and spread the word.
Thus, a documentary was born.
Kyi said she was fascinated by the fact
that some of these moms
went from being extreme about their religious views
to being extreme about LGBTQ activism.
The director takes us into the world of her characters
by utilizing social media posts, photos, home movies,
and interviews, letting us see first hand
the struggles and triumphs of her actors.
According to the film's website,
the group calls themselves the Mama Bears
because while their love is warm and fuzzy,
they fight ferociously
to make the world a kinder, safer place
for not only their kids, but for all LGBTQ+ people.
Let's watch together, unconditionally.
Mama Bears starts now on PBS Wisconsin,
your home for independent film.