28/08/2025 - VENICE 2025: We met up with the Macedonian-born, Belgian-based filmmaker to talk about her new film, an anti-biopic of Mother Teresa

(© 2025 Fabrizio de Gennaro for Cineuropa - fadege.it, @fadege.it)

Teona Strugar Mitevska is back at the Venice Film Festival in the Orizzonti section, where she presented her sixth feature film, The Happiest Man in the World [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Teona Strugar Mitevska
film profile], in 2022. After inventing a series of original characters in her previous films, this time she draws her inspiration from a historical figure known to all: Mother Teresa. But as one might expect from this filmmaker with her unique universe, Mother [+see also:
film review
interview: Teona Strugar Mitevska
film profile] is a far cry from a traditional biopic, painting a striking portrait of an icon who is not Christian, but resolutely punk. We follow her during a pivotal week in her life, before she founded the Missionaries of Charity. She talks to us about this film that has haunted her for years.

Cineuropa: What attracted you to the character of Mother Teresa?
Teona Strugar Mitevska: As artists, we always try to imagine something greater than ourselves; that's why we create, to explore. Mother Teresa comes from Skopje in Macedonia, like me. I learned to admire who she is, what she represents, with all her complexity, the controversies surrounding her, her exuberance, her endurance. It's a project I've been working on for years. Fifteen years ago, I made a documentary about her. But it took me a long time to gain the confidence to make a film in English about such a well-known figure, while still making the film I wanted to make. This lack of confidence is the tragedy of many women. This film represents me completely, my point of view on cinema. And it's important to highlight imperfect female characters. We're fed up with saints, aren't we? 

So how do you tackle a character who is such an icon, who already exists in people's imaginations?
By demystifying her, by showing the person behind the myth. Many of the anecdotes in the film are based on what the four sisters from her order told me when I met them while shooting the documentary. This character is so rich, so multifaceted. She is incredibly human.

You mention demystifying. Was it fun to play with  her imagery, a saint, originally a Christian icon, who becomes punk in your film?
I always wanted to make her a punk icon. For me, she's a kind of Robin Hood, taking from the rich to give to the poor. She had real audacity, which is why we chose Noomi Rapace to play her, because she's deeply punk. And I have to say that this film is one of the most fun things I've ever done in my life. We decided from the outset that we wanted this punk freedom. The shoot was organised around that. We were like children, with the freedom to not give a damn, to not be confined by ideas of what a saint should be or what she should look like.

There is a certain freedom in relation to the image of the saint, but also in relation to the idea that one might have of a feminist icon, perfect in her commitments. Teresa is much more complex.
While doing our research, we came across the story of this father who Teresa was “separated” from, she was even exiled from him to Darjeeling for a long time. At one point, I even thought that this was our story. I admire her character, but at the same time, I am perplexed, particularly by her views on abortion. It is a woman's most sacred right, the right to control her own body, and also the most personal. As a feminist today, I couldn't not talk about abortion. But talking about it also means trying to understand that Teresa, 80 years ago, was part of a Catholic institution, so yes, she followed the doctrine. We tend to avoid controversy in general, but I wanted to face it head on. The idea is to understand Teresa, not to justify her.

The film is set 80 years ago, but it is very relevant today. It is not a historical film; it does not bother to show Calcutta in 1948. It is a portrait, seen through Teresa's eyes.
Aside from the topic of abortion, I find Teresa to be extremely modern in her idea of creating an army of women dedicated to serving others. I like her ambition; she could be the CEO of a company, but not a capitalist one! It's obvious that I didn't want to make a historical film. Her fight against poverty is still as relevant today as ever. Nothing has changed much today, when you go to Calcutta, or even elsewhere. From the beginning, people have asked me if it's a biopic, and I say no. We conceived the film as a stream of consciousness; we are inside Teresa's head, we see the world through her eyes. So, a shot of Calcutta, as you say, would take us out of that. She doesn't need it!

The film is called Mother, which is a nickname, but it also raises the question of motherhood.
Teresa made a sacrifice by renouncing motherhood, joining the order, and “marrying” God. But above all, it was the choice of an ambitious woman. In fact, the sisters in her order found freedom in this choice. It was a way of not getting married, of not having to cook for a man. Even today, in some parts of the world, becoming a nun and joining a religious order is still, paradoxically, a way of refusing to conform to the norm, of not being “someone's wife” or “someone's mother”. It's a radical decision. When she discovers Sister Agnieszka's pregnancy, there is almost jealousy in her voice, and we understand that she is questioning her choices, that perhaps deep down she also has a repressed desire for motherhood. It was very important for us when writing the script to show how she reaches the point of no return, to be with her when she makes her final decision to pursue her ambition.

(Translated from French)