Family Portrait in Black and White

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  • Opened July 13, 2012 (NY)
  • 1 hr 46 min
  • NR

  • The film follows passionate supermom, Olga Nenya during three turbulent years that see her brood of 17 foster children grow into adolescence. Olga is a loving single mother who receives little government assistance but she is no Mother Teresa. Raised by the Soviet regime, she believes in communal responsibility over individual freedom and runs the family with Stalin-like authority. Unlike many in the Ukraine, Olga holds no racial prejudices as 16 of her foster children are bi-racial, results of taboo relationships between local Ukrainian girls and African students. Olga’s parental limits are tested daily and her iron-fisted ways become a refuge for some and prison for the others. In many ways, Olga’s words sum up the immense value of living with a Mother, ideal or not, biological or adoptive, versus being raised in the best orphanage where a child calls every caregiver “a mom” without ever knowing what a true MOTHER is. Full synopsis

  • Director: Julia Ivanova
  • Genres: Documentary

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Fan Reviews

Must Go!
A multilayered complex exploration of a family

by timecode09

I saw it at Sundance. This film simply dazzles. The deeply personal relationships between parents, children, spouses, and potential exes or absentee parents are things that can?t be glossed over in a...

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Critic Reviews

83
Christian Science Monitor
| Peter Rainer

It's a fascinating story, fascinatingly told. Read full review

80
Village Voice
| Ernest Hardy

The film's emotional and psychological textures suffer for those losses, but Family is still riveting viewing. Read full review

80
The New York Times
| Neil Genzlinger

Leaves a lot of questions unanswered, which is frustrating, but it gets high marks for honesty. Read full review

75
Slant Magazine
| Chuck Bowen

Julia Ivanova, a Canadian filmmaker, doesn't judge Olga; she refuses to see her through the eyes of a presumably better-off first-world citizen. Read full review

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