International Competition
Midwives ◊ jp◊
- Onsite
- 7.17 (Mon) 14:20 Audio Visual Hall
- 7.19 (Wed) 14:20 Convention Hall
- Online
- 7.21 (Thu) 10:00 - 7.27 (Wed) 23:00
* There is a maximum viewing number of online screenings for this title due to rights matters. This film will be inaccessible when the number of views reaches 500, even if it occurs during the online screening period. Your understanding is appreciated.
After five years of training as midwives, “the most beautiful job in the world”, Louise and Sofia are finally entering the workforce. In reality, however, they have to deal with the huge responsibilities of assisting birth, while coping with exhaustion from overwork.
©Geko Films
Director: Léa FEHNER
Cast: Khadija KOUYATE, Héloïse JANJAUD, Myriem AKHEDDIOU, Quentin VERNEDE, Tarik KARIOUH
2023 / France / 100min.
This robust ensemble drama depicting the bitterness and the beauty of life, centered on two new midwives struggling with the gap between ideals and reality, had its world premiere at the Berlin International Film Festival’s Panorama section this year. Midwives is the third feature by director Léa Fehner, whose debut feature Silent Voice (09) was selected for the Venice Days of the Venice International Film Festival, nominated for the César Award for Best First Film, and won the Louis Delluc Prize for Best First Film. The film was released in cinemas in Japan in 2012. The realism of Midwives is augmented by brilliant performances by young talents, like Héloïse Janjaud from the Netflix version of the oft-remade Dangerous Liaisons. Jacques Giraud, the cinematographer of the 2022 Grand Prize winner Softie (21), was in charge of the “ER” style active cinematography.
Director: Léa FEHNER
Born 15 October 1981 in France. Fehner went on to study film and screenwriting at France’s national film school, La Fémis. Her first film, Silent Voice (09), was selected at numerous festivals, notably the 2009 Mostra de Venise and the Deauville American Film Festival. It won the Louis Delluc Prize for best first film and was nominated for a César Award. Her second feature, Les Ogres (16), earned a prize at the Festival of Rotterdam in 2016. Since then, she has collaborated on the scripts of several films, including Woman at Sea by Dinara Drukarova, selected at the 2022 San Sebastian Film Festival. Midwives (23) is her third film.
Message
Twelve years ago, I became a mother and my first child was born with major health issues. Since then, I have spent a lot of time with him and his father in hospitals, which profoundly changed my relationship with that environment. I don’t know if it is the result of a few unfortunate encounters, of the dire situation of hospitals today, or of the brutal experience of the unacceptable, but the fact is that we have often suffered from a lack of attention, abusive reactions, moments of absolute loneliness, and on several occasions, we have felt mistreated, infantilised, abandoned.... In order to make sense of that experience, I wanted to immerse myself in that world with my tools as a film director, and try to look at caregivers for what they are: not sorcerers, oracles or raging gods, just men and women confronted with distress, pain, death, and life. They also have to face the neglect of the healthcare system, the deterioration of working conditions, the constant pressure of management. They cannot escape the hard fact that they have chosen a profession where one gets to deal with the tragedy of fate every day.
