Documentary short | Documental corto
Salvadoran midwives, who delivered babies even during the Civil War, now fight to protect their ancestral role in the face of government repression. As people in El Salvador lose their right to give birth at home, dehumanizing hospital experiences become the standard way of ushering life into the world. The caretaking traditions of these midwives are at risk of being lost to future generations.
Parteras salvadoreñas, que han atendido partos incluso durante la guerra civil, ahora luchan para proteger su papel ancestral ante la represión gubernamental. A medida que las personas en El Salvador pierden su derecho a tener sus partos en casa, las experiencias hospitalarias deshumanizantes se convierten en la forma estándar de dar a luz. Las tradiciones de cuido de estas parteras corren el riesgo de perderse para las generaciones futuras.
We are now in post-production on a feature-length version of MATRONAS
Coming in 2024
Asociación de Parteras Rosa Andrade
This documentary has been produced with the organizational support of the Association of Parteras Rosa Andrade (APRA) and features many of its members. APRA is a group of 30 midwives who have been fighting together for the reproductive rights of thousands of people living in 41 rural communities in the municipality of Suchitoto, Cuscatlán, El Salvador for the past three decades. Most of these midwives either began or continued the work of attending births during the 12-year-long Civil War, when pregnant people in rural areas and guerrilla camps could not seek medical attention.
Este documental ha sido producido con el apoyo organizativo de la Asociación de Parteras Rosa Andrade (APRA) y presenta a muchos de sus miembros. APRA es un grupo de 30 parteras que llevan tres décadas luchando juntas por los derechos reproductivos de miles de personas que viven en 41 comunidades rurales del municipio de Suchitoto, Cuscatlán, El Salvador. La mayoría de estas parteras comenzaron o continuaron el trabajo de atender partos durante la guerra civil de 12 años, cuando las personas embarazadas en áreas rurales y en los campamentos guerrilleros no podían buscar atención médica.
Directors | Directoras
Shara Lili
Shara Lili is a Hungarian-American filmmaker based in California. She studied the history of modern social movements and revolutions at Stanford University. She has produced and edited hundreds of commercials and corporate documentaries for clients including Tesla, Google, Nike, SanDisk, and Western Digital. She executive produced and edited the narrative dramatic short film Inamorata, which premiered at Blackstar and on Issa Rae Presents.
Noemí Delgado
Noemí Delgado is a doula and health educator living between California and El Salvador. In 2019, she won a Public Health Fulbright Research Award to work with la Asociación de Parteras Rosa Andrade in Suchitoto, El Salvador. In addition to providing prenatal support with the midwives, she conducted an oral history project to document their stories. She is passionate about spiritual healing and reproductive justice for her community. She is co-founder of the collective Cuidando a Las Que Nos Cuidan.
Composer | Compositor
Illustrator | Ilustradora
Ábel MGE
Ábel M.G.E. is a composer of electronic music, opera, film music, and contemporary classical music. He often uses concepts and idioms from his experience working in photography, videography and digital art to create analogues in the realm of sound. Ábel has received commissions from the New Voices Opera company, the Indiana University Kuttner Quartet in Residence program, and the Royal Northern Sinfonia and received performances across the US, Austria, Italy, and the UK.
Judith Umaña
Judith Umaña is an editorial illustrator from El Salvador. Growing up during the country’s civil war filled her brain with images that she did not know how to exteriorize until she found illustration. For over 15 years, she has collaborated with projects related to human rights and social and political commentary. Her works have been published for projects of the United Nations, Unicef, Human Rights Commission, Revista Factum, Alharaca collective and many more.