How Savanah Leaf and Tia Nomore personalized their ode to Black motherhood, 'Earth Mama'

LOS ANGELES — Writer-director Savanah Leaf never forgot how her life changed at 16, when she met her future sister's birth mother, a young woman not much older than herself.

"I felt very similar to her in many ways," recalled the London-born, Bay Area-raised filmmaker, who drew inspiration from her own teenage memories for "Earth Mama," her feature debut. "We were probably listening to the same music, both athletic. I was very curious about her."

The Olympic volleyball player turned storyteller first explored her family's experience in 2020's "The Heart Still Hums," a short documentary co-directed with "Bones and All" actor Taylor Russell following five mothers fighting addiction, poverty, generational trauma and the foster care system in Sacramento. That project in turn became "emotional research," Leaf says, for the fictionalized "Earth Mama," about a young Oakland mother in recovery for addiction, facing mounting legal, financial and emotional hardships with two children in foster care and a third on the way.

But "Earth Mama," in theaters now, hinged on a pivotal piece of casting. For her protagonist Gia, who struggles to make ends meet working at a mall's portrait studio while fighting to restore her family, Leaf needed an actor who could bring naturalism, authentically rep the setting, and be ready for the challenge of carrying an entire film on her shoulders. Enter Tia Nomore.

The , a recent mother with a 1-year-old at home who was then training to become a doula, had no previous acting experience. But her onscreen presence and resonance with the film's themes made an impression on Leaf, who cast her at the center of an, , Bokeem Woodbine, and Olivia Luccardi. Rapper and singer also makes her acting debut in "Earth Mama," which was shot on 16-millimeter by cinematographer in 26 days in and around Oakland.