Appel a communication pour une session Women in French -- Rocky Mountain Modern Language Association convention -- Ogden, Utah (USA) -- 8-10 Octobre 2026
Session: Documenting the Missing Mother in Contemporary French and Francophone Films or Series
The session explores the way French and Francophone directors [actresses, female characters, scriptwriters] look back and reflect on their missing mother and her life years later. This forces them to reassess the traumatic moment which occurred when they were babies, teenagers or young women. The panel engages with various filmic methods used, genres (docudramas, mysteries, tales…), acting styles, mise en scene, and scriptwriting to tackle this intimate subject. What happens when the daughter deals with such a trauma and retraces the maternal footsteps. Problematics such as abuse, artists’ communities, celebrity, grief, misogyny, psychoanalysis, racism, and the search for a reconstituted family are at the core of such works but not just and other avenues of inquiry are welcome. Examples of recent films: Dites-lui que je l’aime, Histoire d’un secret, Little Girl Blues, Les enfants vont bien, Maman a disparu, Petite Maman, etc.
Please send a 250-word proposal in French or English and a short bio to the panel chair by 31 March 2026
Chair: Sylvie Blum-Reid, University of Florida
Email: sylblum@ufl.edu