Voice Messages From My Mom (2026)

Inspired by Chantal Akerman’s *News From Home*, this evocative short film captures a Nigerian student navigating life in the Netherlands as she listens to a stream of WhatsApp voice notes from her mother. The mother’s voice fills the air while the daughter goes about her daily rhythms in Maastricht—studying, walking, living. As the messages pile up, they peel back the layers of a complex bond between a mother and daughter living worlds apart. The stark contrast between what we hear and what we see exposes an unspoken rift: love wrapped in control, sacrifice morphing into expectation, and the quiet loneliness that creeps in when two people are constantly in touch yet no longer truly close. This film delves into the weight of being loved by someone who doesn’t fully see you—and the emotional toll that love can carry.