AVAILABLE SOON

This lively film spotlights a largely overlooked movement in early feminist history. Ina May Gaskin and her spirited friends began delivering each other’s babies in 1970 in rural Tennessee. With Ina May as their leader, the women taught themselves midwifery from the ground up and, with their families, founded an entirely communal, agricultural society called The Farm. They grew their own food, built their own houses, published their own books, and, as word of their social experiment spread, created a model of care for women and babies that changed a generation’s approach to childbirth.

Ina May led the charge away from isolated hospital birthing rooms, where husbands were not allowed and mandatory forceps deliveries were the norm. Today, with nearly one-third of all US babies are born via C-section, she fights to preserve her community’s hard-won knowledge. With incredible access to the midwives’ archival video collection, the film captures the unique sisterhood at The Farm Clinic from its heyday into the present, and showcases childbirth in a way most people have never seen—unadorned, unabashed, and awe-inspiring.

“A raucous celebration of life. . . heartstopping.”
‒Matt Holzman, FCRW

“A disarming example of documentary filmmaking.”
‒Variety

Best Film, A Celebration of Independent Cinema, 2012
DOCNYC, 2012
Indie Memphis Film Festival, 2012
Audience Award, Los Angeles Film Festival, 2012
Philadelphia Film Festival, 2012