Documentary “Mama Illegal” shown to packed houses

The Odeon Movie Theater turned out to be too small for the large number of spectators who watched the documentary “Mama Illegal” in the evening of March 6, including standing. The film made by Austrian director Ed Moschitz is about three women from Moldova who work illegally abroad, in Austria and Italy, Info-Prim Neo reports. The documentary presents seven years of the life of the three women and focuses on illegal migration and its impact on the families left at home. Though it was produced in 2011, in Moldova it was shown only now. Director Ed Moschitz said that it wasn’t easy for him to make this film, but he tried to emphasize a social problem. “It is the society’s tragedy. The women who work illegally are forced to leave Moldova because life here is impossible for many of them,” he stated. The documentary shows how two families broke up. In one of them the husband killed himself, while in the second the husband and wife separated. The shooting took place in Austria and in Moldova. The film’s music is performed by the band “Zdob si Zdub”. The documentary is 95 minutes long and is subtitled in English. After the screening, the spectators were invited to a public debate centering on migration. It involved the Head of the IOM Mission in Moldova Antonio Polosa, the Head of the EU Delegation to Moldova Dirk Schuebel, and Austrian Ambassador Michael Schwarzinger. In 2012, “Mama Illegal” won the top prize of the Festival of Films for Human Rights “One World” in Brussels as well as other official selections and nominations. It was shown in 12 countries.