Smallscreen News

Single motherhood examined in Sunshine, on PBS May 4

By April MacIntyre Apr 12, 2010, 5:00 GMT

Maggie Gyllenhaal and Peter Sarsgaard Fame Pictures, Inc - Santa Monica, CA, USA

A perfect documentary for Mothers' Day, as PBS will air "Sunshine," a film which explores the transition from 'unwed mother' to 'single mom' through one woman's personal story.

Does history repeat itself? 

Filmmaker Karen Skloss found herself asking that question when she unexpectedly became pregnant—her own birth the result of her mother’s unplanned pregnancy 23 years earlier. 

How has ‘unwed motherhood’ changed — from 1975, when Karen's mother went away in secret to give birth and then gave her up for adoption — to today, when single moms are more prevalent but the rules are still being written?

In her film, Skloss explores the meaning of family through the legacy of her birth and the non-traditional family she has created with her own daughter. 

Described as an "uplifting and empowering self-portrait of an adopted woman searching for answers through reconnection with her biological mother," Sunshine will premiere on the PBS series Independent Lens, hosted by Maggie Gyllenhaal, on Tuesday, May 4 at 10 p.m. (check local listings).