21/02/2023 - BERLINALE 2023: We talked to the French director about her highly intimate and distressing portrayal of the midwifery profession

French director Léa Fehner presented her drama-come-political-statement-come-coming-of-age-story Midwives [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Léa Fehner
film profile] in the Panorama section of this year's Berlinale. We met with her to discuss her extensive research into public hospitals, her own personal experience of giving birth, and how she translated all of this into a highly relevant and touching homage to the dedication of midwives.

Cineuropa: Conditions in hospitals are difficult for all departments. Why did you choose to concentrate on midwives?
Léa Fehner: A lot of things are changing in maternity wards, for parents as well as for midwives. Transitions are underway. Nothing remains as it was before. People become parents. Children come into the world. Maternity wards have very unique atmospheres. It’s also symbolic for my young protagonists who have to make important decisions and find a way to become adults through this experience.

Were you inspired by your own experience?
When I had my first child, I was surprised by the conditions at the hospital. I didn't have a very good experience. It was challenging for me. Through the film, I found out about both sides and, in a certain sense, I see it as a kind of reconciliation for me, because I actually have a lot of respect for midwives and their work.

Did you spend time with them in the hospital?
Yes, I wanted to understand the situation and then transpose it into a fictional work. I took the time to look carefully at what happens from their side. I did a lot of interviews with midwives and spent a lot of time following them around in public hospitals. I worked shifts just like they did, which meant twelve-hour shifts and night working. I wanted to understand by listening but also by getting a feel for this work. I experienced really normal, everyday situations, as well as extreme ones. I saw how midwives need to constantly adapt. I also spoke with new parents, gynaecologists and other medical staff.

Was it difficult for you to cope with some of the things you saw?
I wondered about the same thing when it came to the midwives. But then, while following them, I saw how they cope with everything. They’re constantly in action. There’s always something that needs to be done. Even during the most dramatic situations, they always have things to take care of. That helps. As for me, it was a rollercoaster of emotions. I witnessed some very funny situations, but I was also there during resuscitations. With one mother’s permission, I was allowed to help a child come into the world. I was able to manage all this because I was very focused at all times.

The camera follows the protagonists very closely. What was your concept for the film’s aesthetics?
That the camera should follow the staff’s movements as if it were a choreographed ballet. It should show their precision as well as any moments of derailment. The camera dances and follows this collective body which makes everything work. I wanted to find a visual form to convey the respect I had for them. Another important element was light. In my mind, it goes hand-in-hand with the birth process, for which we might also use the metaphor “coming into the light”. That’s why there are some very bright moments, which I wanted to use as counter-points to the more challenging, tragic scenes. 

How did you choose your actresses?
The entire process was actually inverted for this film. Arte asked for the film to be made, together with the Conservatoire National Supérieur d’Art Dramatique, a professional acting school in Paris. The aim, from the start, was to work with young actors in training. I developed a story in line with their young age and thought about different elements that might represent the process of growing up and taking responsibility in life. I chose two young women from the group whom I felt emanated a particular kind a maturity. With Khadija Kouyaté, who plays Sofia, I liked her mixture of determinism and fragility. She’s very fast and dynamic and I thought she would be really good as this character who puts a lot of pressure on herself. As for Héloïse Janjaud, in the role of Louise, I was looking for a more tender-hearted and slightly clumsy character, who allows herself a bit more time to understand things.

Did you work with non-professional actors too?
Yes. They’re the women who allowed us to film their children’s birth. We filmed around fifteen births. Some of the women then became part of the story.