“Your Mother Your Mother Your Mother,” a new film written and directed by Bassam Tariq and starring Mahershala Ali, explores themes of family, faith, and personal struggle through the story of Latif, a Houston-based hit man grappling with the recent loss of his wife. As he tries to care for his three children, particularly seeking breast milk for his youngest daughter, Latif’s journey navigates the tension between his violent profession and his dedication as a father within the framework of his Muslim faith.
The film draws its central inspiration from an Islamic hadith in which the Prophet Muhammad emphasizes the paramount importance of the mother, repeating three times that the mother deserves the greatest respect and care before mentioning the father. This message forms a thematic backbone that underlines the emotional and spiritual arcs of the characters.
Set during Ramadan, the story incorporates the practices and rituals of Muslim life with subtlety, aiming to present faith as a lived experience rather than a spectacle. Tariq said this setting adds an “exciting” layer of authenticity, portraying rituals such as prayer and funeral customs with care and respect. The film’s director of photography, Kate Arizmendi, who is not Muslim, immersed herself in the practices portrayed and sought to convey them with reverence, which both Tariq and Ali highlighted as a meaningful aspect of the production process.
The collaboration between Tariq and Ali emerged from an earlier, unrelated project—a planned Marvel film featuring Ali as Blade, to be directed by Tariq, which ultimately did not come to fruition. However, their creative partnership grew from that experience, leading to a shared desire to tell a story rooted in faith and family. Ali, an Oscar-winning actor and father himself, connected deeply with the film’s focus on the ways children can provide emotional healing and support to their parents.
Tariq’s motivation to write the script partially stems from a personal episode in 2014 when his newborn son was hospitalized and unable to nurse, prompting Tariq to seek breast milk in a desperate effort to care for him. The vulnerability and humility in those moments inspired the film’s focus on paternal love and the complex dynamics of caregiving.
The production faced challenges, including a limited schedule for action sequences that required choreographing fight scenes in just a few days. Ali, drawing on his athletic background and martial arts training from earlier projects, expressed concern about delivering convincing physical performances within these constraints but noted they managed to achieve the desired results.
Set in Houston, a city that Tariq describes as religiously diverse and lacking dominant majorities, the film reflects a community where faith often intersects with everyday life and social spaces like mosques and churches serve as hubs for connection.
“Your Mother Your Mother Your Mother” seeks to balance moments of intense action with quieter, intimate scenes that highlight the complex interplay of violence, faith, love, and family responsibility. Both Tariq and Ali emphasized the film’s message about the power of mercy, love, and the enduring importance of mothers in shaping lives, echoing the hadith that inspired the work.