In this literal “coming” of age story, an Indian daughter gives her mom “the talk.”
Director’s Vision for ‘Giving Mom the Talk’
The film is an upbeat, unique, and awkward exploration of the Indian diaspora experience. The culture is woven into the narrative making the lives of the characters richer and isn’t the source of conflict. It’s also an important conversation about how difficult it can be for women to ask for what they want, especially in bed. Indian moms often assume the role of caretakers and get so used to putting everyone else’s needs before their own. Something that most mothers, especially those in heterosexual relationships can relate to. Society also makes it difficult for women in general to prioritize our pleasure. In making this movie I wanted to filter that difficulty through the awkwardness of a 20 something woman having to give her mom a sex talk. I love using role reversals and subverting expectations as a way to flip the narrative.
Being Indian and a woman of color, I find that the stories that get told about us are often stories of trauma, or stories where conflict is derived from being at odds with our culture and often our parents. I have always craved seeing myself represented on screen in a way that represents our joy, our connection to our culture, and our incredible human experiences. I also grew up in Nigeria and had the wonderful experience of seeing several mixed-race blended families of Indian and Nigerian couples and wanted to showcase a mixed-race family where the interracial relationship also isn’t a point of conflict but is accepted and celebrated as they often are. It’s tradition in my culture for mothers to stay with their daughters to help out when they are pregnant and it’s a beautiful gesture of love that I wanted to show on screen. In normalizing our culture and the way we bridge cultural gaps with love and understanding, it is my small rebellion to show that while we may show our love in different ways – we have more in common across cultures than we are different. We all love our children, we all want to connect with one another, we are all even in the weirdest of circumstances hopeful about our future and excited to try something new. And in the case of this mom – that experience just happens to be having her vagina licked for the first time. This is a showcase of my voice – I love stories that tackle important issues like sex, race, and minority representation in a way that humanizes and normalizes relationships, that have joy and laughter and moments of levity, and use humor and foreplay to warm you up to something new.
