Mama Bears (2022) was directed by Daresha Kyi. It's a documentary about Christian parents who struggle with the fact that their children are LGBTQ.
We all know--from movies and from life--that many Evangelical Christians struggle when they learn that their children are LGBTQ. Often the children are rejected. That could mean sending them for "conversion therapy," or literally rejected--forcing them to leave the home.
The children themselves struggle when their sexual orientation isn't tolerated within the church. They want to be Christians, but they are trapped when their religion excludes them. Often that means that they leave the church. Loving parents must choose between their faith and their children.
Mama Bears is an organization of people who are evangelical Christians, but refuse to give up their faith or reject their children. The organization works to promote Christian love and acceptance over Christian hate and rejection.
It takes bravery to be a Mama Bear, and the vignettes and interviews that we see in the film make that clear. The group tries to bridge the gap between their faith and their love for their children who are LGBTQ.
I had never hear of Mama Bears, and was very glad to have seen this movie. Not only do I admire the members, but I admire director Kyi for making this powerful and useful film.
We saw this movie as part of Rochester's wonderful ImageOut LGBTQ Film Festival. The movie has a solid IMDb rating of 7.7. I thought that it was even better than that, and rated it 9.