More info at http://motherloadmovie.com MOTHERLOAD is a crowdsourced documentary in which the cargo bicycle becomes a vehicle for exploring parenthood in this digital age of climate change. As Marin filmmaker and new mother Liz Canning meets the people behind the push to replace cars with purpose-built bikes, she contemplates the increasing tension between modern life and our hunter-gatherer DNA, and discovers the history and potential future of the bicycle as the “ultimate social revolutionizer.” Conflict arises when characters in the film encounter cultural resistance—in particular, bikelash focused on women and mothers. MOTHERLOAD draws connections here to the struggle of cyclist Suffragettes and women's seemingly endless fight for bodily autonomy.

Liz Canning/2019/86 min/Built Environment: Transportation, People & Culture

FILM DESCRIPTION: “Motherload” is a crowdsourced documentary about a new mom's quest to understand and promote the cargo bike movement in a gas-powered, digital and divided world. As Liz explores the burgeoning global movement to replace cars with purpose-built bikes, she learns about the bicycle's history and potential future as the ultimate "social revolutionizer." Her experiences as a cyclist, as a mother, and in discovering the cargo bike world, teach Liz that sustainability is not necessarily about compromise and sacrifice but that there are few things more empowering, in an age of consumption, than the ability to create everything from what seems to be nothing.

Saturday, March 7, 6:30 to 9 p.m. [South]
Experimental Station, 6100 S. Blackstone Ave., Chicago

Tickets

Join us after the film for an engaging discussion, facilitated by Elizabeth Lyon, Small Business & Circular Economy Manager, Plant Chicago. Learn about solutions-based action opportunities with Blackstone Bike Works, Divvy, Wisconsin Bike Federation and Green Mountain Energy. Refreshments will be available.

Doors open 30 minutes before start time. Arrive early to avoid lines and get best seats. "PG-13" May contain heavy themes, graphic images or language.

Lisa Files