Five midwives from around the world share their stories of how and why they’ve devoted their lives to helping women through childbirth in director Nance Ackerman’s The Delivery Line. We posed our Qs à la mode to Nance, and here’s what she shared!
If I had to describe my film using only three adjectives, they would be: Intimate, moving, expansive.
I wanted to make this film because: I love childbirth. I love midwives. I had my babies at home with midwives. I’ve attended many births as a doula, and have witnessed the strength and calm in their work. And I wanted to approach conflict, crisis and global issues from a woman’s perspective.
I wanted to use my female lens to change the perspective, and to have audiences understand that the kind of birth we have can change our lives.
The thing that surprised me most while making my film was: That the women working in these conditions still had an amazing sense of humour and hope.
My favourite moment/scene/sequence in my film is: I have two favourite scenes. One is the one where Gulbadan is in her room at night studying and breastfeeding her son. And the other is Hamsatu talking about the noise/quiet of a woman in labour and she says, “Why-o-why-o-mamana!” and laughs. We sampled that and put it into the soundtrack.
My most invaluable piece of doc-making equipment was/is: My water bottle and my 40-year-old Nikon prime lenses.
My must-have snack to get me through hours in the editing room is: Half an avocado with balsamic, eaten with a spoon.
One piece of documentary-filmmaking advice I’d like to share with aspiring documentarians is: Be open to great collaborations — that’s what filmmaking is all about. Not just with creators but with participants, that is key. They are sharing the most important thing in their life with you: their story. So respect that, without sacrificing your vision for the film.
Want to check out Nance’s film, or just learn more about it?
Get the scoop, and your tickets, here!
