There's something powerful and potent about mothering, about the art, about the act of mothering.

And I believe it has a lot to do with how we heal and how we are resilient and how we move through the world.

Mothering is also about the community.

There are ways in which Staceyann has had to lean on her community to nurture, to care, to do the things that a mother would do.

The life that she's created in the wake of her mother's absence is truly what has helped her survive.

And I remember feeling like, "How am I doing this for myself in my life?"

It got me thinking about what are the ways you can show up for your community with joy, with patience, with compassion?

And how can you do that when you're standing in front of a mirror and you're looking at yourself?

That has been the most deep and precious takeaway.

That a film can create an opportunity for families to show up for each other, to discuss things that may have, you know, things that lurk in corners and in secret.

That maybe this film can be the beginning of a healing journey for somebody else.

It makes me so proud to think that audiences past, present, and future will have that opportunity to see the film and to maybe engage in that healing for themselves and for their family and for the people who they love.