Breastmilk
- Directed by: Dana Ben-Ari
- Released: 2024 (educational)
- Year of Production: 2014
Pregnant bodies are easier for society to accommodate. What follows birth is a different, messier story.
With unexpected humor, with an unflinching camera, with some guilt and some pain, BREASTMILK takes the unusual risk of examining what breast milk truly means.
We are often told that breast milk is better. Better for babies, better for mothers, better for nutrition, health, well-being, and society. Many accept this and yet there are still very few women who succeed in breastfeeding exclusively for the recommended six months and beyond. What would it take to change?
“Produced by Abby Epstein and Ricki Lake as a follow-up to their 2008 docu “The Business of Being Born” (which Epstein directed), the film provides an engrossing array of opinions from experts including community health worker Patrece Griffith-Murray, whose humorous, sensible manner not only puts her patients at ease but also acts as an onscreen tonic, and the Australian writer Fiona Giles, who leads the film down some of its more provocative alleyways. One of the more stimulating topics of discussion here is the difficulty society has reconciling a woman’s maternity with her sexuality, despite the fact that this biological function, generally considered a turn-off from the father’s perspective, has an unmistakably sexual dimension.” – Variety
Dana Ben-Ari is the director of the documentary BREASTMILK. She also created and co-organized an art exhibit, PLEASE TOUCH: Body Boundaries, echoing some of the BREASTMILK themes.
Host a Screening and Book the Filmmaker at your Event