LOST IN LIVING
Dir. Mary Trunk, 2013
USA, 113 min.

FRIDAY, JULY 6 – 7:30 PM
WEDNESDAY, JULY 11 – 7:30 PM
THURSDAY, JULY 19 – 10 PM
TUESDAY, JULY 24 – 7:30 PM

Behind the domestic curtain of motherhood, where the creative impulse can flourish or languish, are four women determined to make a go of it. LOST IN LIVING confronts the contradictions inherent in personal ambition and self-sacrifice, female friendship and mental isolation, big projects and dirty dishes.

Filmed over 7 years, LOST IN LIVING follows four remarkable women, all artists as well as mothers. Best friends Kristina, a filmmaker, and Caren, a painter, embark on a journey that takes them through difficult career choices, challenges in their friendship, turning 40, parenting struggles, rejection and acclaim for their work and a redefinition of their feminist ideals. Merrill and Margie, both with adult children and many years of child-rearing experience, recall their triumphs and mistakes. Merrill is a writer with three adult daughters. She published more than 25 books before deciding to quit altogether. Margie’s late-life success as a painter saves her from the deadening dullness of being a housewife and mother and the strains of an unhappy marriage. These four women’s stories illustrate the internally driven desire to explore their deeply held conflicts and passions. For them art competes with other passions in their lives and the richness of their lives enriches their art. Through intimate scenes, and in-depth interviews, the complex realities of family life unfold in this funny and poignant documentary film about the messy intersection of motherhood and artistic expression.