Produced during Lee’s trip to her childhood home in New Jersey after the unexpected death of her mother, Mommy weaves the artist’s memories into a kaleidoscopic narrative of devotion, memory, intrafamilial desires, and the evolution of American subcultures on the Internet. Using her mother’s unfinished autobiography as a starting point, Lee infuses personal and family history, situating Mommy as a story of her mother’s life as well as her own.

Lee’s inclusion of family artifacts across decades—including home movies, family pictures, menus from her parents’ restaurant, and handwritten notes from her mother—contends with the shifting fidelity of images to the people and memories they imperfectly represent. Collaged photos, drawings, video clips, and text snippets adorn the screen, visually and symbolically framing Lee’s biographical storytelling through her own diaristic lens and DIY sensibility as an artist and zinemaker. Mommy’s soundtrack features electronic, punk, and experimental selections by Lee’s friends—including NYC-based artists Physical Therapy, James K, and Gobby—showcasing a unique ecology of creative production while extending the narrative of Lee’s personal development in experimental media communities.

Soundtrack: Barr, Gobby, James K, Jonathan Wintringham, Kayla Guthrie, Max McFerren, Nightcoregirl, Odwalla88, Air Pop, Pinky Rose, Physical Therapy, Princess Nokia, Galcher Lustwerk. Assistant editors: Ross Laing, Sei Smith. Sound design: Brian Patrick Hill. Special effects: Sid Seed. Special effects intern: Brian Delagarza. Archival assistant: Lily Sheng. Poster design: Jennifer Shear. Illustrations: Milano Chow.