His films like 'Nobody Knows' and 'Shoplifters' explore maternal sacrifice and unconventional protection within fractured families with profound tenderness.

His socially conscious cinema, particularly 'I, Daniel Blake' and 'Kes', depicts mothers fiercely protecting their children against systemic hardship and poverty.

Her films 'You Were Never Really Here' and 'The Killing of a Sacred Deer' probe the psychological complexities and obsessions of maternal protection in haunting, visceral ways.