That’s What Moms Are For is a character-driven short film centered on the complicated dynamics between a mother and daughter during a birthday dinner. It reflects on the emotional push and pull that often defines family life.The film responds to the quiet, often overlooked realities of aging parents and the emotional labor that mothers carry throughout their lives. While grounded in recognizable domestic tension, the story leans into heightened, sometimes campy performances that blur the line between truth and exaggeration. In doing so, it becomes a kind of satire.

The set was entirely built from scratch using flats, allowing myself complete control over the environment. I leaned into a production design approach rooted in “curated clutter” a space densely filled with objects accumulated over a lifetime. This clutter wasn’t arbitrary; each item was carefully chosen to reflect the mother’s identity, values, and personal history. The result is a dining room that feels both intimate and overwhelming. Visually mirroring the emotional texture of the scene.