From Norma Bates to Natalia Akerman, mothers have loomed large in the history (and herstory) of cinema; whether warm or wicked, nurturing or nagging, their presence is primal, poignant, and freighted with psychic baggage for filmmaker and audience alike. By way of tribute to their earthly burden, we present a series of films about mothers in all of their wonderful, complicated multiplicity, lovingly crafted by an eclectic group of artists who will variously make you laugh, cry and squirm—with or without maternal accompaniment. Happy Mother’s Day!