ACFNY SUPPORTED | GERMAN-AUSTRIAN FILM FESTIVAL | MAMA ILLEGAL BY ED MOSCHITZ

The 3rd German-Austrian Film Festival in Williamstown addresses the migrant and refugee crisis that continues to plague Europe. Award-winning journalist Ed Moschitz presents MAMA ILLEGAL, a touching film debut centering on the life of three women, their fears and the uncertainties of their illegal status.

INTRODUCTION & PRESENTATION by the German Department Faculty at Williams College

Q&A WITH THE FILM MAKER ED MOSCHITZ

SYNOPSIS
They live among us and yet they remain invisible. They clean our toilets, make our beds and take care of our parents. We let them into our home, but hardly anyone knows their story. Three mothers leave the abject poverty of Moldova to illegally work in Austria and Italy as cleaning ladies. While these women separate from their families and their homes to follow the dream of a better life, their children grow up alone. They give their savings to the traffickers and risk their lives on their trip to Western Europe: Aurica, Raia and Natasa, three mothers from a small Moldovan village. They leave their humble homes, the broken roads, the dilapidated schools and the countless abandoned houses behind to work in Austria or Italy as cleaners or care workers. Here they live a life in the underground – a tough job, without valid documents, unprotected and without health care – separated from their children and families for years. They send the little that remains of the hard-earned Western money home to their families.

ABOUT THE DIRECTOR
Born in 1968 in Judenburg, Styria, Ed Moschitz began his journalistic career with the first freelance work for Südwind Magazine, Falter and Die Presse in 1994 while still studying. Since 1996 he has been working for the ORF, first as an editor for FM4, soon after for the culture radio station Ö1. In 1998 he moved on to television, into the editorial department of “Am Schauplatz”. Ever since he has been working as a reporter, editor and designer of now 100 programs.

More information:
http://www.mamaillegal.com/team_en.html
http://www.mamaillegal.com/start_en.html

VENUE
Images Cinema Williamstown
50 Spring St, Williamstown, MA 01267