NEW SCREENINGS
16th October
Totnes
24th October
Lewes
17th October
Bristol
25/28/29/30 October
Plymouth
...more to be announced
PAST SCREENINGS
19th August
London, ICA
3rd September
Southampton
11th, 13th, 15th, 18th
London
11th Sept, 8.10pm
13th Sept, 1.00pm
15th Sept, 6.20pm
18th Sept, 4.00pm
Bertha DocHouse
11th September
Liverpool
19th September
York
From 26th September
Manchester
26th Sept, 6.20pm
28th Sept, 3.45pm
30th Sept, 8.15pm
1st Oct, 3.40pm
2nd Oct, 1.25pm
HOME
29th Aug-18th Sept
London, ICA
3rd September
Oxford
8th September
Brighton
17th September
Edinburgh
22nd September
London
8.30pm
Q&A with Naomi Pallas
Garden Cinema
Presented by We Are
Doc Women
SOLD OUT
1st September
Norwich
4th September
London
10th September
London
18th September
Bristol
24th September
Bath
SYNOPSIS
In a hidden Orthodox monastery in Belarus, MOTHER VERA weaves the inner world of an unorthodox young nun with the community that saved her life. After 20 years as a monastic, Vera faces deep inner conflict. Now, she must confront her past and trust her instincts to find the liberation she desires.
FESTIVALS
Visions du Réel 2024
World Premiere, International Competition
Millennium Docs Against Gravity 2024
International Competition
Camden International Film Festival 2024
North American Premiere, Harrell Competition
London Film Festival 2024
Grierson Documentary Award
Folkestone Documentary Festival 2024
Cologne Film Festival 2024
Cambridge Film Festival 2024
Central Scotland Documentary Festival
Festival dei Popoli, Florence, 2024
First Prize, International competition
CINECITY, Brighton 2024
Cork International Film Festival 2024
Noordelijk Film Festival, Netherlands, 2024
Gijon International Film Festival, Spain, 2024
CamerImage, Toruń, Poland 2024
Budapest International Documentary Festival, Hungary 2025
Docpoint, Helsinki Documentary Film Festival, Finland 2025
Antenna Documentary Film Festival, Sydney, Australia 2025
Borderlines Film Festival, UK 2025
Transmutación, Oculus Aurora International Competition, Mexico 2025
PRESS
TEAM
Cécile Embleton
Romain Beck
Producer
Laura Shacham
Laura is a creative producer specialising in artist moving image and documentary film. She seeks out projects where the alchemy of voice, place and care melds, with an emphasis on those led and imagined by womxn. Laura is a Sheffield Doc/Fest Future Producer 2016 and a Sundance Institute Documentary Film Program Grantee 2020.
Director
Cécile Embleton
Cécile is an English-French film director. She strives to make cinema that evokes the spiritual dimension of our human search for meaning and purpose.
Her directorial debut, 'The Watchmaker' screened at Hot Docs, Dok Leipzig and SXSW. 'Mother Vera' is her first documentary feature which won the Locarno First Look prize in 2023. Cécile is BAFTA connect member and a Sundance Institute Documentary Film Program Grantee 2020.
Director
Alys Tomlinson
Alys is a photographer based in London, working mostly in black and white film. Her work has been included in over twenty international exhibitions and she was named Sony World Photographer of the Year 2018 which included a portrait of Vera. Her long-term project ‘Ex-Voto’ was published by GOST Books in 2019. ‘Mother Vera’ is her directorial debut.
Editor
Romain Beck
Romain’s editing work has been recognised at festivals including London, IDFA, Hot Docs, and South by Southwest. In 2024, he made his directorial debut with The Backstreet (Sheffield DocFest, international competition) and is developing his next project, The Next Line is a Secret, through the Sheffield DocFest Queer Realities Director Lab 2025.
