“The film will be about not being able to cope with being a mother,” explains Bente Johanne Moe.

Having experienced this herself, she describes ‘Hopeless Mother’ as a deeply personal film.
Moe will feature in the film herself and follow three other couples from Vaksdal, Herøysund and Trondheim, respectively. She will also talk to midwives, psychologists and other experts in the field.
Moe explains how at one point in her life, she felt that “everything was closing in on me. I had finally had the three children I had always longed for. Then suddenly the good feeling stopped. I had nothing left to give. The only way I could get through the days was to shut down emotionally.”
When Moe confessed to her GP that she had thoughts of running away from her family more than 50 times a day, she finally got help from a psychologist at the medical centre.

The problem affects many women as well as men
In retrospect, she has looked back on her own experience and researched the figures.
bq. “Forty women a year kill themselves fairly soon after giving birth, and more than 300 women attempt suicide. These are huge numbers. Why isn’t there a system in place to identify these mothers?” she asks.
In the film, she will consult Specialist Psychologist Gro Vatne Brean, who works specifically with postpartum depression.
“I’m going to go to therapy with her so that I can understand what happened to me when I had a baby. This will be the theme that runs throughout the film.

Wishes more relatives would sound the alarm
In one of the families shadowed in the film, things went terribly awry. Ultimately, a father was left alone with two children.
“First and foremost, I want this film to contribute to greater openness.”
bq. “The experience of having children is not always as gratifying as many people think. My hope is that more relatives and friends will sound the alarm when a new mother seems depressed, so that more people can get help in time, like I did,” the director points out.
She also wants political changes.
“Many medical centres in Norway have routinely screened for the problem, while others have discontinued doing so because the Directorate of Health does not recommend it. Screening should not depend on where you live or who you meet.”
The film is being made by the newly established (2023) Fotspor Film, based in Bergen, and the film is expected to be completed in 2026. Trude Refsahl and Elise Søfteland Iversen are the producers.

Awards in December 2024, applications for NOK 100 000 or less and
The Awards for Norwegian Journalism, December 2024, applications for NOK 100 000 or less can be found in the Norwegian version of this article.