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The film is a personal journey, examining the roles the collaborators play as father and midwife, stimulated by their engagement with two couples who encounter very different experiences of birth. The film draws us into an examination of the connection between birth and death to explore what role fear plays in childbirth and how the ways in which we deal with fear affect the way in which a child is born. “Our hope is to create a magical-real environment in which to go beyond the limits of our historical perspective on childbirth and its culturally bound rites, and to demonstrate an emotionally connected knowledge which can contribute to the debate on how we give birth and die.”
Made as part of Birth Rites Collection, the 2009 touring exhibition of artworks about the politics and practice of childbirth, curated by Helen Knowles.
Director: Andy Lawrence with Judith Kurutaç
Producer: Birth Rites Collection / Helen Knowles
Camera: Andy Lawrence
Sound: Andy Lawrence / Jon Tipler
Editing: Andy Lawrence
Additional Editing: David Henderson
Visit Birth Rites Collection