ABOUT THE FILM

LOGLINE

A Broadway performer becomes a mother, braiding rhythm and grief and time and joy on her path to connect with her profoundly disabled son.

LONG SYNOPSIS

Randi studied Butoh dance in Japan before performing in the show Stomp, forging a deep connection with movement and her body. Randi is visually striking, with close-cropped salt and pepper hair, and presents as very masculine of center, defying most people’s image of a mother. Birthing her son felt triumphant, then confusing as he was whisked away to the NICU. When doctors shared that Moses was profoundly disabled and faced a tenuous future, Randi fell into a well of grief before unearthing a new language by which to learn and love her son—one born and honed in the body.�

Randi’s story laces together family, queerness, and disability with vulnerability. Hers is a parenting journey we rarely speak openly about in our culture. The film has partnered and screened with the Phelan-McDermid Syndrome Foundation, Moebius Syndrome Foundation, AGENDA, and several other disability groups. HOLDING MOSES makes the caregiver story more visible and sparks conversations that help shift a shame narrative around the stunning challenges and surprising gifts that come with the birth of a disabled child.

Director Rivkah Beth Medow

Co-Director Jen Rainin

Producer Jen Rainin

Co-Producer Rivkah Beth Medow

Editor Greg O'Toole

Cinematographer Clare Major

Cast Randi Rader

FESTIVALS
2022: San Francisco International, Riverrun, Provincetown, Frameline46

AWARDS
Golden Gate Award (SFFILM), Best Short Documentary Honorable Mention (Riverrun), Warner Bros. Discovery Short Documentary Award (Provincetown), Jury Award Best Documentary Short (Frameline), Best Documentary Short (SF Jewish)

AVAILABLE TERRITORIES
The World

EXHIBITION FORMATS
DCP, Digital Download