Screening: Alys Tomlinson - Mother Vera : HackelBury in collaboration with Ognisko Polskie

In October, HackelBury hosted a screening of Mother Vera at the Ognisko Polish Club in London.

The event brought together collectors, curators, and members of the Polish and artistic communities for an evening of film and dialogue. Tomlinson took part in a Q&A with Professor Edward Dimsdale, where she shared insights into the making of the film.

Directed by photographer Alys Tomlinson and filmmaker Cécile Embleton, Mother Vera is a meditative portrait of a Belarusian nun who has spent decades in an Orthodox monastery, seeking redemption from a past marked by addiction and loss. Emerging from Tomlinson’s photographic series Ex-Voto, the film’s stark black-and-white imagery moves through candlelit chapels, snowbound fields, and moments of quiet communion with animals, tracing Vera’s conflicted devotion and tentative steps toward freedom.

Mother Vera was nominated in four categories for the BIFA, they include:
Best Debut Director - Feature Documentary Best Feature Documentary
Raindance Maverick Award
Best Cinematography