IFFBoston screening a ‘Mothers + Daughters’ trilogy at Somerville Theatre

The three films by Joanna Hogg — ‘The Eternal Daughter,’ ‘The Souvenir,’ and ‘The Souvenir Part II’ — star Tilda Swinton

Tilda Swinton in a scene from "The Eternal Daughter."Sandro Kopp/Associated Press

The relationships between mothers and daughters are complicated, both on- and off-screen.

Independent Film Festival Boston is highlighting this dynamic in screenings of “The Eternal Daughter,” “The Souvenir,” and “The Souvenir Part II” in “Mothers + Daughters: 3 Films by Joanna Hogg & Tilda Swinton” at Somerville Theatre Wednesday and Thursday.

As the title indicates, all three films, released between 2019–2022, are directed by Hogg and feature characters played by Swinton.

Never before seen in Boston theaters, “The Eternal Daughter” showcases Swinton as both a daughter and her mother uncovering secrets after revisiting their former home.

“We thought since [’The Eternal Daughter’] kind of forms a trilogy with the two parts of ‘The Souvenir,’ it made sense to do them together,” said Brian Tamm, executive director of IFFBoston. “Also, the two parts of ‘The Souvenir’ haven’t been played together, so we thought it would be a good opportunity for people who wanted to reconnect with those films to see them as a piece.”

In “The Souvenir” films, Honor Swinton Byrne, Swinton’s actual daughter, plays her daughter on-screen.

The first film follows a film student named Julie (Byrne) on a journey to find herself as an artist while navigating a rocky relationship with an older man (Tom Burke) that goes against the wishes of her mother (Swinton). “The Souvenir Part II” depicts the deconstruction of Julie’s relationship after her break-up through the creation of her graduation film.

“All three films are sort of variations on Joanna Hogg’s own story,” said Tamm, “so it’s both about Joanna Hogg and her mother and Tilda Swinton and her daughter.”

Tamm said IFFBoston is working on more screenings for March leading up to its 20th anniversary April 26–May 3.

Tickets for this week’s showings can be found at iffboston.org.