Nour Films will release it in France. Scandinavian rights have been secured by Scanbox Distribution, with September Film taking Benelux. Additional territories, including Germany, Italy, Spain, Poland, and Czech Republic, have also inked theatrical deals in advance of the high-profile festival launch, with several more in late-stage negotiations, as the director Teona Strugar Mitevska and producer Labina Mitevska announced on a press conference held on 25 July 2025 in Skopje.
The film will begin rolling out theatrically in European cinemas starting 3 December 2025.
Mother, which features Rapace alongside Sylvia Hoeks and Nikola Ristanovski, is directed by Mitevska from a script co-written with Goce Smilevski and Elma Tataragić.
The English-language feature is set in 1948 Calcutta and chronicles a transformative week in the life of the soon-to-be saint as she battles faith, doubt, and institutional opposition before founding the Missionaries of Charity.
Teona Strugar Mitevska describes Mother as her most complex film yet, offering “the possible story of the woman behind the myth.” The film explores a pivotal week in Mother Teresa’s life, revealing a deeply human side as she confronts unforeseen challenges that shake her faith just before founding the Missionaries of Charity.
“While making it, I took full creative freedom and, in an industry still dominated by men, I allowed myself to bring a female logic and worldview to the life and figure of Mother Teresa,” said Mitevska at the Skopje press conference.
The film is produced by Labina Mitevska through Sisters and Brother Mitevski (North Macedonia), in coproduction with Sébastien Delloye through Entre Chien et Loup (Belgium), Frau Film (Denmark), Rainy Days (Sweden) and Raging Film (India). It was backed by the North Macedonia Film Agency, the Swedish Film Institute, the Danish Film Institute, the Fédération Wallonie Bruxelles, Film i Väst, and Creative Europe – MEDIA.
Mother will open the Orizzonti section at Venice on 27 August 2025. The 82nd Venice Film Festival will be held from 27 August to 9 September 2025.
