Director: Ken Scott
Cast: Leïla Bekhti, Jonathan Cohen, Joséphine Japy, Sylvie Vartan, Jeanne Balibar
Once Upon My Mother is a 2025 French-Canadian drama directed by Ken Scott, starring Leïla Bekhti and Jonathan Cohen. Set in 1963, it tells the story of a mother whose fierce, unconditional love becomes the foundation on which her son builds an entire life against considerable odds.
What is Once Upon My Mother about?
In the early 1960s, a woman raises a son who came into the world with a clubfoot — a condition that, in that era, carried both physical hardship and heavy social stigma. Rather than shield him from a world quick to judge, she makes him a promise that shapes everything to follow. The film moves across years, tracing how that single, quietly spoken vow reverberates through childhood, adolescence, and into adulthood. What emerges is a portrait of resilience forged not through grand gestures but through stubborn, daily devotion. The story resists easy sentimentality, grounding its emotional weight in the texture of ordinary moments and the long, slow work of becoming who you are.
Cast & crew
Director Ken Scott, known for deft comedic-dramatic balancing, guides an ensemble anchored by Leïla Bekhti, whose performance as the mother earned strong critical notice. Jonathan Cohen plays the son across key life stages. The supporting cast includes Sylvie Vartan, Jeanne Balibar, Joséphine Japy, Lionel Dray, Anne Le Ny, and Milo Machado-Graner, each lending texture to the decades the film spans.
Context & significance
For Persian-speaking viewers scattered across North America, Europe, and Australia, stories of maternal sacrifice carry a particular resonance. The immigrant and diaspora experience — navigating new societies while carrying the weight of family expectation and parental love — mirrors much of what this film explores, even though it unfolds in France and Canada. The universal grammar of a mother's promise translates cleanly across cultures; Iranian audiences in particular will recognise the emotional register immediately. The film is available on K-Time with both Persian dubbing and Persian subtitles, making it fully accessible whether you prefer to watch in your native language or follow along in the original French.
Where & how to watch
Once Upon My Mother is available now on K-Time with full Persian dubbing and Persian subtitles. Watch on any web browser, on your TV, or on your phone — no VPN required, no geo-blocking, and no extra download needed. Start a subscription and cancel anytime.