Motherboard charts the joy, pain and comedy of raising a child alone. It’s a celebration of messy lives and proof that epic journeys can begin and end at home.

At the age of 38, Victoria found herself single, pregnant and broke. Unable to combine motherhood with freelance directing, she was forced to abandon her career in TV, instead turning the camera on herself and her son, Jim. Victoria first began documenting their lives with her old DVCAM before shooting almost daily on five generations of smartphones, from the iPhone 6 to the iPhone 15. She recorded hundreds of hours of footage, capturing each twist and turn in Jim’s life, from the thumbs-up he gave during her first scan, to his first day at college.

Motherboard is a celebration of messy lives, solo motherhood, and proof that epic journeys can begin and end at home. Over two decades, Victoria captures a life where breast cancer, absent fathers and depression are part of the package, but where life still wins every time. And where everything will be fine as long as you don’t lose your sense of humour.

Motherboard is the antidote to the judgmental and unrealistic expectations we have about motherhood, creating an honest, funny and relatable film for any mother who has wept tears of both joy and frustration.

Director Victoria Mapplebeck
Year 2024
Duration 1h 26m
Language English
Cast Victoria Mapplebeck, Jim Mapplebeck.