Unexpected

Director: Kris Swanberg
Screenwriters: Megan Mercier, Kris Swanberg

Institute History

  • 2015 Sundance Film Festival

Description

Samantha is a high school science teacher at a low-income school about to close, and she has just found out she's pregnant. Though her boyfriend, John, proposes and is thrilled to begin a new life together, Sam struggles with the idea of halting her career to be a full-time mother. Simultaneously, one of Sam's brightest students, Jasmine, has also become pregnant. Sam makes it her mission to get Jasmine into college and bonds with her over their impending motherhood. Unbeknownst to Sam, Jasmine is wiser than she gives her credit for, and when things don't go exactly according to Sam's plan, she must reexamine what is best for herself and for the people she loves.

In an age when working mothers are nearly as common as working fathers, Kris Swanberg's uplifting and honest depiction of modern motherhood is both fresh and comforting. When society often questions whether women can maintain both a family and a career, Swanberg answers with a resounding yes via her characters' wisdom, courage, and flexibility with circumstances they least expect. —R.K.

— Rebecca Katz

Screening Details

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