Birth! Film Festival

Presented by the Doulas SK Network and the Midwifery Association of Saskatchewan

MAy 4th @ the Odeon Evens Center in Saskatoon. For Ticket info call 477-SOFT


Birth! Film Festival Summaries



Section One: Trusting Birth



Birth As We Know It

... is a treat for both the heart and mind, comfortably intertwined on a path toward realizing the full potential of birth. A new style of documentary film creates a refreshing arena for the story of Birth to unfold. A triumphant orchestration of stunning cinematography, empowering instrumentation, and a calming narrative, warms our hearts as we are reminded of the beauty of Life, and awakened to the ultimate possibilities of Birth! This groundbreaking new film is aimed at illuminating future parents on the impact of conscious conception, pregnancy and birth. In this stunningly beautiful video, Director Elena Tonetti-Vladimirova shares her experiences as one of the co-creators of the "Conscious Birth" movement in Russia during the early 1980's.



For Your Own Good (Man in Labor)

With typical Spanish humor, Iciar Bollain presents a man in labor delivering a baby. This short film is in Spanish with English subtitles.


Waterbirth in the 21st Century

By showing you these pictures we try to give you useful objective information about how the waterbirths are done by our team in Ostend. More than 18 years of experience and 3500 waterbirths gave us an increasing confidence in a positive physical and psychological effects of a warm aquatic environment. Our water birth-team in Ostend consists of a variety of different professionals who provide a adequate prenatal aquatic preparation and give the possibility afterwards for the new parents to help their baby get further accustomed to the aquatic environment.
Producer Fabien Raes



Kangaroo Care

This is the "How-To, Why-To" video that summarizes the latest research to prove that the newborn thrives best on his mother's chest. How to wrap the baby to mother's chest is also shown. Kangaroo Mother Care enables baby to relax, improves the heart rate and body temperature. By Nils Bergman, M.D.



Baby-Led Breastfeeding

Kittie Frantz RN, and Christina Smillie, MD — long time experts in the field of breastfeeding — created this film to provide us with the baby's perspective. She stimulates us to think about the secret drives of the infant in this intimate relationship between mother and infant. Kittie Frantz, RN; Christina Smillie, MD Producers





Section Two: The Issues of Birth

Birthday
This favorite short birth video, beloved by parents, childbirth educators and midwives, captures the beauty of a homebirth filmed in the countryside of Xalapa, Mexico. This is the video men love. This is the video that will pass from one generation to another empowering every viewer.
Narrated by mother and midwife, Naoli Vinaver Diana Paul, Producer/Director

It's My Body, My Baby, My Birth
Midwife Maria Iorillo gives us a peek at her very multicultural practice. Seven Mothers, their partners, midwives and an obstetrician take us on a rare journey which ends in natural childbirth.

Birth of Sabine
Sabine’s video shows us the excitement and anticipation of a mom’s first pregnancy. The story follows Stephanie and James from the positive pregnancy test, prenatal visits with their midwife, a belly cast, to the unexpected surprise of her water breaking days before labor begins. This is how one family navigates the ins and outs of pregnancy, labor and birth. James Westby, Andaluz Waterbirth Center


Section Three: Special Screening

THE BUSINESS OF BEING BORN

Birth is a miracle, a rite of passage, a natural part of life. But birth is also big business. Compelled to explore the subject after the delivery of her first child, actress Ricki Lake recruits filmmaker Abby Epstein to question the way American women have babies. Epstein gains access to several pregnant New York City women as they weigh their options. Some of these women are or will become clients of Cara Muhlhahn, a charismatic midwife who, between birth events, shares both memories and footage of her own birth experience. Footage of women having babies punctuates THE BUSINESS OF BEING BORN. Each experience is unique; all are equally beautiful and equally surprising. Giving birth is clearly the most physically challenging event these women have ever gone through, but it is also the most emotionally rewarding. Along the way, Epstein conducts interviews with a number of obstetricians, experts and advocates about the history, culture and economics of childbirth. The film’s fundamental question: should most births be viewed as a natural life process, or should every delivery be treated as a potential medical emergency? As Epstein uncovers some surprising answers, her own pregnancy adds a very personal dimension to THE BUSINESS OF BEING BORN, a must-see movie for anyone even thinking about having a baby. A film by Abby Epstein; Executive Produced by Ricki Lake.