Written, Directed and Produced by Janet Merewether.
MAVERICK MOTHER
(produced by Screen Culture Pty Limited)
(2007, 52mins, HD 16:9)
A documentary about choosing single motherhood.
‘At 39, Janet’s biological clock was chiming a deafening ‘tic-toc’.
A film about single motherhood by choice and the contemporary role of the father.’
Reviews
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“With a humorous and engaging narrative, the filmmaker tells her very personal story of becoming a single mother. Blending serious moments and comical situations of her life with surrealistic photo-montage episodes, Janet Merewether frequently expands the borders of documentary.”
Taiwan International Documentary Festival Jury 2008
Winner Jury Special Mention and Audience Choice awards
“Baroque is the right word for this film, it’s neat chronological structure, its tri-partite framing and witty fantasy-making and, as with the best Baroque music, the emotional power unleashed by careful, ostensibly casual crafting by writer-director, cinematographers, composer, editor, and production and post-production designers collaborating seamlessly.”
Realtime 85 – Onscreen p17, Keith Gallasch admires Janet Merewether’s Maverick Mother ‘Inside the experience of living’
5 stars – Pick of the Day
‘Historically you couldn’t be a single woman and raise a child. Here is a documentary that blends traditional storytelling and horror reconstructions to crack that time-honoured myth. One single woman’s attempt at becoming a mother raises the contentious debate of the value and need for a father figure in a child’s life… Janet’s story blossoms into a frantic and funny tale challenging the archetypal nuclear family. Fascinating.’
Time Out Sydney – 30/1/08 p82 Ellice Mol
Awards
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WINNER – PTS Audience Award – TIDF Taiwan International Documentary Festival 2008
WINNER – Jury Special Mention – Documentary under 60 minutes – TIDF Taiwan International Documentary Festival 2008
WINNER Best Australian Documentary – ATOM (Australian Teachers of Media) Awards 2008
WINNER Best Documentary – Human Interest – ATOM (Australian Teachers of Media) Awards 2008
NOMINATION for Best Directing – Documentary Australian Directors’ Guild Awards 2008
NOMINATION for Best Editing Documentary Australian Screen Editors’ Awards 2008
Festivals
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TIDF – Taiwan International Documentary Festival 2008
WFFIS – Women’s Film Festival in Seoul 2009
Dungog Film Festival Australia 2009
WOW World of Women Film Festival 2009
Beldocs Documentary Festival Serbia 2009
Broadcast
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SBS Television Australia
YES Israel
Australia Network
The Participants
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Janet Merewether, Arlo Merewether, John Merewether, Tempe Merewether, Jim Merewether, Ted Merewether, Sarah Merewether, Ned Merewether, May Merewether,
Rex Merewether, Margy Merewether and Angela Knight
Appearing as themselves:
Michelle Baddiley, Maria Ceballos-Wallis, Maryella Hatfield, Dr Linda Mann, Nicola Mathieson, Maureen Neems, Catherine Nelson, Bronwyn Rennex, Gayle Richens, Deborah Szapiro, Heather Winter
Also appearing:
Charlot Bernardoff, Catherine Brown, Phaedra Carantinos, Lara Chirino, Belinda Crofts, Joanne Cunningham, Chris Darvall, Toby Dash, Debbie Foyster, Jennifer Hamar, Roxy China Husband, Simeon John, Brooke Kozlovsky, Nicole Martin,
Stephen Mori, Emma Mothersdill, Nick Rheinberger, Sophy Robertson, Peter Shortland, Nick Simkins, Ingrid Skirka, Hayley Stafford, Sydney (the dog), Steve Thompson, Greg Tynan, Jane St Vincent Welch, River Weston, Matt Worth, Clare Young
Screen Culture would like to thank all the cast and crew for their wonderful work on MAVERICK MOTHER.
A special thanks to my parents.
Key Cast and Crew
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Dedicated to my father John Merewether, who appears in this film, and who died a month after its premiere screening in 2008, and to the feminists and progressive politicians who fought for the right of all Australian women to keep and raise their babies in love and safety.
Written, Produced & Directed by – Janet Merewether
Line Producer – Helen Lovelock
Director of Photography – Justine Kerrigan
Pregnancy & Birth Cinematography – Jackie Farkas
Video Cinematography – Janet Merewether
Production & Costume Designer – Melinda Doring
Editor – Jane StVincent Welch A.S.E
Post Production Designer – Tim Richter
Sound Designer – Liam Egan
Composer – Felicity Fox
Script Editor – Belinda Chayko
Costume Supervisor & Costumier – Joanne Rapa
Make-up Artist and Hairdresser – Eleanor Woodhead
1st Assistant Director – Sophy Robertson
Gaffer – Andrew Robertson
Re-recording Mixer – Phill Judd M.P.S.E
Technical Specifications
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Running Time – 52mins @ 25 fps
Delivery Gauge – HDCam and Digital Betacam
Shooting Guage – DVCam, HDCam, Super 8mm, Super 16mm
Sound – Dolby Stereo
Screen Ratio – 16:9 FHA
Synopsis
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MAVERICK MOTHER is an autobiographical hybrid documentary about film-maker Janet Merewether’s embarkation on a journey of pregnancy and solo motherhood. In contemporary Australia, many educated working women find that they cannot find male partners willing to participate in relationships or parenting. Why are so many attractive and talented women single and childless? Has the breakdown of the marriage structure and the ability of professional women to ‘have it all’ enabled men to relinquish their responsibilities? Rather than accepting their fate as ‘barren spinsters’ and remaining childless, and due to the availability of work, childcare and donor programs, many of these women are now finding ways to conceive and raise children as solo mothers.
DVD sales and Streaming
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