Once My Mother

Australian documentarian Sophia Turkiewicz investigates why her Polish mother abandoned her and uncovers the truth behind her mother's wartime escape from a Siberian gulag, leaving Sophia to confront her own capacity for forgiveness. A study of "the way generations are inextricably connected by the thick and complex bonds of love."

"This is the story of two women: Sophia, an award-winning Australian filmmaker, and her mother Helen. It is a story of survival and forgiveness, and finally a deeply affecting love story. In her old age her daughter leads her through a rediscovery of the epic journey of her life, from Poland to a wartime Siberian gulag, and through Uzbekistan, Persia and a refugee camp in Africa before she comes to rest in Adelaide. Turkiewicz (Letters from Poland, Silver City) traces her own life in parallel with her mother's in an effort to make peace with their troubled relationship." (Adelaide Film Festival)

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