British Comedy Guide

Online

SuperMum

A short film about Samantha, a superhero the press have recently been calling SuperMum. Written and directed by Lisa Gifford, with Juliette Burton as SuperMum.

Lisa Gifford, the award-winning writer of 3some, has got behind the camera again to write and direct SuperMum.

SuperMum stars up and coming comedian Juliette Burton as Samantha, a modern woman juggling married life to her partner Kate, being a mother to her daughter Sophia and a career as a superhero. Samantha is an average, everyday mum. Or at least she likes to think so, but her career kinda makes her stand out from the crowd. Because Samantha is a superhero. A documentary crew follow Samantha, or 'SuperMum' as the tabloids have dubbed her, on a typical work day, as she goes about her job hoping to be home for her daughter's bedtime story. But a superhero's day doesn't always run to plan...

Lisa Gifford says: "I have arrived very late to the world of superheroes. The first wave of Marvel films largely passed me by; except for Iron Man and that was only really down to a not-altogether professional interest in the work of Robert Downey Jr. But, after being coerced into seeing the first Avengers film, I was hooked.

"What interests me is not the work of the heroes, but their private lives. What do they do after they save the world - do they pop home to mum for a cuppa? Or do they prefer to nip out for a quick Shawarma? I'm British, and we tend to like our heroes to be real, the underdog, and maybe a bit imperfect, so I began sculpting a universe where the heroes are people too; sometimes scatty, sometimes lazy, sometimes fed up, but always trying. And that's how SuperMum was born.

"There's a lot of publicity around how female actors and singers are treated in the press - look at the Oscars, or even the recent exclusion of non-high heel clad women from the Cannes Red Carpet, and I wanted to reflect that too. Here's an average woman, doing a job, and is mystified by this obsession with what she's wearing. She's not even known by her real, or superhero, name; she's categorised by the fact that she has a child - 'SuperMum'. All she wants to do is get through her day relatively intact, and get home to her daughter Sophia and partner, Kate. Something, I think, that most people, male or female, parents or not, can relate to."

SuperMum is part of the My Rode Reel filmmaking competition. You can vote for the film on Rode.com

Share this page