arrest the midwife Archives

ARREST THE MIDWIFE

Filmmaker Elaine Epstein follows the case of Elizabeth Catlin, a midwife charged with 95 felony counts after the death of one baby. However, Liz is not the first or last midwife to find themselves in court.

The Mennonite community uses midwives as per tradition. Liz is part of a tight group of women that serve these mothers and their families. Suddenly, Yates County begins targeting one midwife after another, putting further stress on the health and safety of women.

The state of NY has increased the requirements of education to maintain accreditation. Liz and her fellow care providers are CPMs (Certified Professional Midwives), each assisting in 100s of births, but according to NY State, that isn’t enough to exist legally.

We don’t get the details of Liz’s specific case until halfway through. When you hear them, your jaw will drop. No one in their right legal mind would ever bring charges against Liz. Going against their tradition of staying within their community, the Mennonite women come to court, write letters, and travel down state in drives to support advancing legislative change. Women supporting other women move the needle.

As a mother who had two births in Manhattan, I envy the homebirth experience 9 years after my first birth. At 35, the term geriatric pregnancy was insulting enough. After numerous ultrasounds and tests, when my son was in crisis during my 16 labor, all that science went out the window, leading to an emergency c-section. Birth trauma is real.

The film is a beautifully structured freight train of activism. Our rights are under attack. This is another example that most of us weren’t even aware of. ARREST THE MIDWIFE is a prime example of how a state’s rights governance hurts its population. Whether it’s midwifery or abortion, this causes care deserts, leading to a high likelihood of deaths. You cannot watch this film and tell me this isn’t a story about body autonomy. ARREST THE MIDWIFE is a fierce feminist film about choice in the face of another oppressive patriarchal and capitalist structure. Let women choose.

Director: Elaine Epstein

Producers: Elaine Epstein & Robin Hessman

Running Time: 82 minutes

Caught between the law and the well-being of the Amish and Mennonite families they serve, midwives in upstate New York operate in a healthcare desert—risking jail time simply for providing critical care. As their midwives are arrested, the women from these insular communities break from their traditions to become unexpected activists, fighting for systemic change.

With exceptionally rare and intimate access, director Elaine Epstein crafts a powerful David-and-Goliath story of resilience and resistance. Set against the backdrop of America’s maternal health crisis and the erosion of reproductive rights, ARREST THE MIDWIFE is both a poignant portrait of a community in crisis and an urgent call to protect every woman’s right to choose how she brings the next generation into the world.

SXSW SCREENINGS:

PREMIERE: Sunday, March 9 at 2:15 PM CT – Alamo Lamar 5 and 6
Tuesday, March 11 at 2:45 PM CT – Alamo Lamar theaters 2 and 7
Thursday, March 13 at 2:45 PM CT – Violet Crown Cinema theaters 2 and 4

For all things SXSW, click here!

SXSW 2025

SXSW 2025 is back with a vengeance. Brimming with talent new and old, the festival grows each year, giving audiences what they love. This year is no exception with Film and TV’s coolest, latest, and greatest. On the docket are hotly anticipated titles like DEATH OF A UNICORN with its insane ensemble cast, Anna Kendrick and Blake Lively return in ANOTHER SIMPLE FAVOR, and Peter Cilella‘s Midnighter DESCENDENT. Take a peek at some of the films we’re watching this year…

For more info on SXSW 2025 click here!

ODYSSEY

Director: Gerard Johnson, Producers: John Jencks, Isabel Freer, Matthew James Wilkinson, Patrick Tolan, Screenwriters: Gerard Johnson, Austin Collings

Natasha Flynn is an estate agent on a mission—and she’s going to make a killing. Cast: Polly Maberly, Mikael Persbrandt, Jasmine Blackborow, Guy Burnet, Ryan Hayes, Charley Palmer Rothwell, Kellie Shirley (World Premiere)

ARREST THE MIDWIFEDirector: Elaine Epstein, Producers: Elaine Epstein, Robin Hessman

The arrest of midwives in a rural healthcare desert ignites an unexpected rebellion: Amish and Mennonite women who break from tradition, and emerge as fierce political activists fighting for reproductive justice and birthing rights. (World Premiere)

GLORIOUS SUMMER (Poland)

Directors/Screenwriters: Helena Ganjalyan, Bartosz Szpak, Producers: Maria Gołoś, Monika Matuszewska

A sun-drenched renaissance palace. Three women remain in a carefree state of limbo, tended to by an unseen, all-providing system. But as cracks in the paradise begin to appear, they are faced with a choice: escape or remain in the perfect illusion? Cast: Magdalena Fejdasz, Helena Ganjalyan, Daniela Komędera, Weronika Humaj (World Premiere)

DEATH OF A UNICORN

Director/Screenwriter: Alex Scharfman, Producers: Drew Houpt, Lucas Joaquin, Alex Scharfman, Lars Knudsen, Tyler Campellone, Tim Headington, Theresa Steele Page

A father and daughter accidentally hit and kill a unicorn while en route to a weekend retreat, where his billionaire boss seeks to exploit the creature’s miraculous curative properties. Cast: Paul Rudd, Jenna Ortega, Will Poulter, Téa Leoni, Richard E. Grant, Anthony Carrigan, Sunita Mani, Jessica Hynes (World Premiere)

REELING

Director: Yana Alliata, Producer: Jack Forbes, Screenwriters: Yana Alliata, Amy Miner

After a life altering accident, Ryan struggles to fit in with old friends and family at a birthday luau but the celebration boils over when he uncovers the missing memory of when his life took a tragic turn. Cast: Ryan Wuestewald, Hans Christopher, Nikki DeParis, Fabrizio Alliata, Makena Miller, Nyah Juliano, Michael Carter (World Premiere)

BABY DOE

Director: Jessica Earnshaw, Producers: Holly Meehl Chapman, Jessica Earnshaw

At 22, Gail gave birth alone and left her newborn in the woods. Decades later, she’s arrested for murder, even though she says the baby was stillborn. Baby Doe explores the fallout when young women cannot accept the reality of an unplanned pregnancy. (World Premiere)

CLOWN IN A CORNFIELD

Director: Eli Craig, Producers: Marty Bowen, John Fischer, Wyck Godfrey, Screenwriters: Carter Blanchard, Adam Cesare, Eli Craig

A fading midwestern town in which Frendo the clown, a symbol of bygone success, reemerges as a terrifying scourge. Cast: Katie Douglas, Will Sasso, Cassandra Potenza, Aaron Abrams, Carson MacCormac, Verity Marks, Dylan McEwan, Daina Leitold, Vincent Muller, Kaitlyn Bacon (World Premiere)

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DEAR TOMORROW (Denmark, Japan, Sweden)Director/Screenwriter: Kaspar Astrup Schröder, Producers: Maria Helga Stürup, Katrine A. Sahlstrøm

In Japan, where loneliness has become a national crisis, the film follows three individuals battling isolation. Through a volunteer chat service, compassionate connections, and government initiatives, they find hope and paths to reclaim their lives. (World Premiere)

FOR WORSEDirector/Screenwriter: Amy Landecker, Producers: Amy Landecker, Bradley Whitford, Valerie Stadler, Jenica Bergere, James Portolese

Fresh off a messy divorce, a 50-year-old sober mom tries to rebuild her life and stumbles into a new beginning after finding herself at a Gen Z wedding behaving like a 25-year-old drunk bridesmaid. Cast: Amy Landecker, Bradley Whitford, Nico Hiraga, Gaby Hoffmann, Ken Marino, Missi Pyle, Kiersey Clemons, Claudia Sulewski, Simon Helberg, Liv Hewson (World Premiere)

O’DESSA

Director/Screenwriter: Geremy Jasper, Producers: Michael Gottwald, Noah Stahl

Set in a post-apocalyptic future, O’Dessa is a rock opera about a farm girl on a quest to recover a family heirloom. Her journey leads her to a dangerous city, where she must use the power of destiny and song to save her true love’s soul. Cast: Sadie Sink, Kelvin Harrison Jr., Murray Bartlett, Regina Hall, Pokey LaFarge (World Premiere)

CREEDE U.S.A.

Director: Kahane Corn Cooperman, Producers: Innbo Shim, Kahane Corn Cooperman

Welcome to Creede – a remote mining town with no stop light, a theater company and 300+ folks at 9,000 feet. This unlikely setting – with its miners, ranchers and theater people – offers an unexpected lens on divisions felt by Americans everywhere. (World Premiere)

THE SURRENDER

Director/Screenwriter: Julia Max, Producers: Mia Chang, Lovell Holder, Julia Max, Ian McDonald, Robert J. Ulrich

When the family patriarch dies, a grieving mother and daughter risk their lives to perform a brutal resurrection ritual that will bring him back from the dead. Cast: Colby Minifie, Kate Burton, Neil Sandilands, Vaughn Armstrong, Mia Ellis, Pete Ploszek, Chelsea Alden, Alaina Pollack, Riley Rose Critchlow, Lola Prince Kelly (World Premiere)

UVALDE MOMDirector: Anayansi Prado, Producers: Ina Fichman, David Goldblum, Screenwriters: Anayansi Prado, Pablo Proenza

When a school mass shooting rocks a small town in Texas, a mom desperate to save her kids is launched into the public eye. She speaks out against a system that never protected her. The community challenges these powers and exposes those who failed to protect its most vulnerable – children. (World Premiere)

IDIOTIKA
Director/Screenwriter: Nastasya Popov, Producers: Tess Cohen, Camila Mendes, Rachel Matthews, Saba Zerehi, Nastasya Popov

In this sharp, irreverent comedy, a disgraced fashion designer with a dangerously low credit score, Margarita (Anna Baryshnikov) enters a reality show with a six-figure cash prize to save her babushka’s West Hollywood apartment. But as the competition intensifies, slick producer Nicol (Camila Mendes) pushes her to spin her family’s struggle into spectacle, forcing Margarita to decide whether to play along or take control of her own narrative, one unhinged look at a time.

Cast: Anna Baryshnikov, Camila Mendes, Julia Fox, Benito Skinner, Saweetie, Owen Thiele, Galina Jovovich, Mark Ivanir, Nerses Stamos, Ilia Volok (World Premiere)

NIRVANNA THE BAND THE SHOW THE MOVIE (Canada)Director: Matt Johnson, Producers: Matthew Miller, Matt Greyson, Screenwriters: Matt Johnson, Jay McCarrol

When their plan to book a show at the Rivoli goes horribly wrong, Matt and Jay accidentally travel back to the year 2008. Blah blah blah blah blah. Cast: Jay McCarrol, Matt Johnson (World Premiere)

BROTHER VERSES BROTHER

Director: Ari Gold, Producers: Michelle Stratton, Starr Sutherland, Screenwriters: Ari Gold, Ethan Gold, Lara Louise, Brian Bell, Herbert Gold, Tongo Eisen-Martin, John Flanigan

Synopsis: Inspired by Francis Coppola’s concept of Live Cinema, Brother Verses Brother is a radically personal musical odyssey. Combative twin musicians hunt for their dying poet father, in an improvisation performed by the director’s own family, and presented as an unbroken real-time shot through the streets of San Francisco.

One brother seeks love, while the other seeks an audience. But as night falls and their father remains missing, their increasingly frantic safari leads them from the secret haunts of the Beat poets into the heart of their family. Their tale becomes a testament to the power of music, the bonds of brotherhood, and the lifeblood of a city – experienced by the viewer in real-time.

Cast: Ari Gold, Ethan Gold, Lara Louise, Brian Bell, Herbert Gold, Tongo Eisen-Martin, John Flanigan (World Premiere)

OUT FOR DELIVERYDirector/Screenwriter: Chelsea Christer, Producers: Clinton Trucks, Alexa Rocero, David B. Lyons

When terminally ill Joanna makes the difficult decision to pursue end of life options through the Death With Dignity law, the systems set up to make her death peaceful and dignified become the opposite. (Texas Premiere)

BAGGAGE (Australia, United Kingdom)

Director/Screenwriter: Lucy Davidson, Producers: Vanessa Batten, Amy Upchurch

Anthropomorphic suitcase best friends bring their emotional baggage on holidays. (International Premiere)

For SXSW 2025’s entire lineup, click here!

Tag Archives: arrest the midwife

‘ARREST THE MIDWIFE ‘ (SXSW 2025) A powerful look at another reproductive right being mandated by ignorance.