The Motherhood Archives Motherhood on Film
Archival montage, science fiction and an homage to 1970s feminist filmmaking are woven together to form this haunting and lyrical essay film excavating hidden histories of childbirth in the twentieth century.
After several years of buying films online and working in historical archives, award-winning filmmaker Irene Lusztig amassed an unusual and fascinating collection of found footage aimed at teaching women how to be pregnant, give birth, and look after babies, along with training films for obstetricians and health care professionals, and a handful of home movies.
Winner of Best Feature Film at the Women Media Arts & Film Festival.
Running Time
92 mins
Year
2013
Kanopy ID
3568041
Filmmakers
Languages
Subjects
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Comments (1)
When I learned I was pregnant with my son in 2006, I started collecting old, discarded educational films on eBay that had to do with pregnancy, childbirth, and motherhood. As a filmmaker who often works with archival materials, thinking visually about the histories and ideologies embedded in ...Read more
When I learned I was pregnant with my son in 2006, I started collecting old, discarded educational films on eBay that had to do with pregnancy, childbirth, and motherhood. As a filmmaker who often works with archival materials, thinking visually about the histories and ideologies embedded in found footage is the way that comes most naturally for me to make sense of things that feel complicated. I like to think of this project as the thinking woman's prenatal education film (though I hope men watch it too!) and I hope it starts conversations about cultural attitudes and histories of childbirth that are critical and complex.
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