Showing @ Filmhouse, Edinburgh, Fri 28 Sept only
Brenda Davis / USA/Haiti/Ethiopia/Cambodia / 2012 / 93 min
99% of all maternal mortalities occur in developing countries. With a severe lack of transport, communication, education and most dangerously of all, a national healthcare system, most mothers and babies die as a result of social negligence. Brenda Davis’s touching documentary tells the story of three healthcare workers who fight to help and teach women about sexual and paternal health in a bid to better the lives of women in Cambodia, Haiti and Ethiopia.
Sister explains the feat of human emotional and physical endurance as both the health workers and new mothers put themselves at risk in order to deliver happy and healthy newborns. Davis’s documentary is stirring and raw, yet she skilfully manages to explore the devastation caused by maternal deaths without dragging her piece into mawkishness or cliché. It is a crucial study of the practical approach to prevention and aid, but also a considerate profile of the anonymous heroes working to improve the lives of fellow men and women. What Davis has managed to create is something which educates, challenges and pushes for change as she captures how these women and others can find hope and meaning while still battling to better their communities.