KEENE, NH – The documentary film MOTHERLOAD is coming soon virtually to the Monadnock Region, on Thursday, May 28, 2020, thanks to co-hosts Monadnock Food Co-op, Monadnock International Film Festival (MONIFF), and Monadnock Alliance for Sustainable Transportation (MAST). MOTHERLOAD, a crowdsourced documentary, explores how the cargo bicycle becomes a vehicle for exploring motherhood in this digital age of climate change.
The film starts at 6:30 p.m. with a post-film discussion to follow with MOTHERLOAD Director Liz Canning, VBike Director Dave Cohen, and Keene State College Film Professor Ted White. This event is free, but registration is required: moniff.org.
This community screening celebrates National Bike Month, a promotion each May that highlights the many benefits of bicycling and inspires individuals to bike more often. Despite the COVID-19 pandemic, Bike Month will continue as planned: bikeleague.org/bikemonth.
“The League is still celebrating National Bike Month,” shared Bike Month organizers from The League of American Bicyclists. “Because bicycling is more essential to our lives than ever—and because we could all use some bike joy to look forward to. We hope that the hundreds of thousands of you who participate in Bike Month events in typical years continue to do so through virtual, solo, or safely distanced events in May 2020, and beyond.”
“I’m excited for this opportunity to view MOTHERLOAD online as a community in these trying times,” said Will Schoefmann, MAST Steering Committee Chair. “Hopefully, this will help to inspire our region now and for the better times ahead. I would encourage everyone to watch this excellent film and help transform our attitudes towards modern bicycling.”
“For seven years, MONIFF has been fortunate to share some of the best independent films with members of our community—during the festival and throughout the year,” said MONIFF Board Chair, Deirdre Fitzgerald. “COVID-19 has made a trip to the movies off-limits for now, so it’s wonderful to be able to bring people together with this free, virtual screening of MOTHERLOAD and help raise awareness about the benefits of bicycling.”
About MOTHERLOAD
MOTHERLOAD follows director and new mother, Liz Canning, on her quest to understand the increasing tension between modern life and our hunter-gatherer DNA, and how cargo bikes offer a solution. As Liz meets the people behind this push to replace cars with purpose-built bikes, she learns about the history and potential future of the bicycle as the “ultimate social revolutionizer.”
Conflict arises when characters encounter cultural resistance, in particular bikelash, focused on women and mothers. MOTHERLOAD draws connections to the struggle of cyclist Suffragettes and women’s seemingly endless fight for bodily autonomy. Ultimately, Liz’s experiences as a cyclist, as a mother, and in discovering the cargo bike world, teach her that sustainability is not necessarily about compromise and sacrifice. Instead, there are few things more empowering in an age of consumption than the ability to create everything from what seems to be nothing.
For more information about the film, please contact the MOTHERLOAD team at info@motherloadmovie.com or visit motherloadmovie.com.
About the Monadnock Food Co-op
The Monadnock Food Co-op is a community-owned food store offering a diverse selection of local, organic, and natural foods to the Monadnock Region. The Co-op is located at 34 Cypress Street in Keene, right off of Main Street via Eagle Court: monadnockfood.coop.
About Monadnock International Film Festival
Monadnock International Film Festival (MONIFF) celebrates the diversity of our world through independent films that educate, enrich, and engage audiences. Once a year, MONIFF hosts three days of high-quality, independent cinema, both domestic and foreign feature films and shorts, film industry panels, Q&A’s with guest filmmakers, and lively after-parties at venues in Keene and Peterborough, New Hampshire. Founded in 2011, MONIFF is a 501 (c)(3) nonprofit: moniff.org and facebook.com.
About Monadnock Alliance for Sustainable Transportation The Monadnock Alliance for Sustainable Transportation (MAST) is a coalition of organizational and individual members working to implement sustainable transportation solutions in the Monadnock Region of New Hampshire. MAST recognizes the broad impacts that the region’s transportation system has on individuals and communities – everything from jobs to cost of living to health and beyond: mastnh.org and facebook.com/MASTNH. Since its inception, Southwest Region Planning Commission has provided staff support to the group through support from the New Hampshire Department of Transportation.