Birthing

Milena Viitman

Macédoine / 2025 / Fiction / 18’10”I2606292

Birthing
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SYNOPSIS

[EN] A young woman's dreams of defining her own modern motherhood start to unravel in the moment of the traumatic delivery of her firstborn. They are further crushed as she faces the reality of an antiquated health system, traditional attitudes of her mother and husband, and the difficult, exhausting process of caring for a newborn, drowning in the overwhelming reality of new motherhood. Once a confident and ambitious pilot, she now battles the emotional aftermath of a traumatic birth, the sudden transformation of her body, a complete lack of support from her partner, and the constant demands of her newborn. Isolated in a society that expects her to feel joy, she instead faces postnatal depression and crushing guilt for not feeling what she's "supposed" to feel. As she loses her professional identity, her romantic relationship, and her social life, she begins to question everything — even her love for her child. Her darkest moments surface when she becomes aggressive towards the child, terrified by what she’s becoming. Is her baby to blame, or the absence of a caring partner and community? At rock bottom, Maria confronts the truth of her new reality. Slowly, painfully, she begins to accept it. She makes peace with the fact that her life has changed forever — but she finds strength in the acceptance. In a surprising act of defiance against fear and despair, she chooses the least expected path: to have another child.

GÉNÉRIQUE