Experiencing Interruptions?

MOTHER by Sylvia Toy

LOGLINE: A woman estranged from her mother is under suicide watch by her roommates, two friends from her mentally ill support group. MOTHER is a nonlinear narrative in which the central characters are 3 high-functioning mentally ill housemates, one of whom is deteriorating into a nervous breakdown.

  • Sylvia Toy St. Louis
    Director
  • Project Type:
    Experimental, Short
  • Genres:
    Art House, Surrealist, Video Art, Performance Art
  • Runtime:
    37 minutes 36 seconds
  • Completion Date:
    June 22, 2025
  • Production Budget:
    1,000 USD
  • Country of Origin:
    United States
  • Country of Filming:
    United States
  • Shooting Format:
    iphone
  • Aspect Ratio:
    16:9
  • Film Color:
    Color
  • First-time Filmmaker:
    No
  • Student Project:
    No
Director Biography - Sylvia Toy St. Louis

I am a self-taught filmmaker except for a foundation in basic technique and professionalism that I learned from a private tutor; an internship; and a brief career in legal videography. I make Arthouse movies in my livingroom. I spent 17 years as a solo theater performer/playwright. That provided me roots for developing script, character and production design using performance art and Method Acting techniques. My movies are rehearsed and produced with continuity.

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Director Statement

MOTHER is a nonlinear narrative in which the central characters are high-functioning mentally ill housemates; and though the story is not autobiographical, over the 50 years since my first therapist at college, I’ve had diagnoses of Bipolar 1, Schizoaffective Disorder, Major Depression, General Anxiety Disorder, Phobia, Eating Disorder. When my mood stabilizer stopped working on my hard-to-medicate bipolar 1 brain 16 years ago, I had to fall back on my many years of CBT (Cognitive Behavioral Therapy). At the time, I probably was already walking 18 miles per week in addition to 20 minutes of something aerobic at least 3 times per week. The CBT bolstered by all the exercise apparently was enough to keep me stable.

One of my characters is a bipolar manic marathoner. All the CBT and running in the world couldn’t control her mood swings. Like most aging bipolar manics, she probably takes several psychotropics. The recovering Hoarder probably takes medications for depression and anxiety; and these days, might also have received modern shock treatment. The bulimic has achieved happiness and peace of mind in therapy; but she probably needs a psychotropic cocktail to stay in remission.

Making this movie has not only helped me reconcile painful periods of my past and re-own those parts of my life as much as I own my stability and happiness; but MOTHER has also helped me accept that the success of my own recovery is not the norm — i.e., I have been able to stay married (almost 40 years); hold fulltime jobs for at least one year; avoid substance addiction; maintain good health habits like regular exercise, balanced diet/normal BMI, and consistent bedtime hygiene; all while achieving my goals as an artist. My 3 characters each have severe mental illness diagnoses—like me, but not. Mental illness is a chronic physical ailment like any other chronic physical ailment that affects each person and their unique constitution, differently.