About eight years ago, Ricki Lake and her producing partner Abby Epstein resolved to turn a critical eye on hormonal birth control. Their previous documentary, 2008’s The Business of Being Born, emphasized the risks and expense of giving birth in a hospital. This new project would apply that same medical skepticism to ongoing conversations around hormonal contraceptives. “In 1960 the birth control pill was all about progress, but does it still fit with our values today?” Lake and Epstein wondered in the project’s Kickstarter campaign. “Do we look to the...
- 5/14/2022
- by Amy Zimmerman
- Rollingstone.com
The film has sold to UK (Curzon) and Australia (Madman Entertainment).
Austrian documentary sales specialist Autlook Filmsales has recorded a string of key deals on Bianca Stigter’s Holocaust documentary Three Minutes - A Lengthening.
The film has sold to UK (Curzon), Australia (Madman Entertainment), Spain and Portugal (FilmIn), Scandinavia and Baltics (NonStop), Poland (Against Gravity), Hong Kong (Pccw) and Former Yugoslavia (Discovery Film).
Neon’s boutique label Super Ltd will distribute to North America later this autumn. Japanese and German buyers are also reportedly circling the film.
From a three-minute home film from 1939, the director recreates the story of...
Austrian documentary sales specialist Autlook Filmsales has recorded a string of key deals on Bianca Stigter’s Holocaust documentary Three Minutes - A Lengthening.
The film has sold to UK (Curzon), Australia (Madman Entertainment), Spain and Portugal (FilmIn), Scandinavia and Baltics (NonStop), Poland (Against Gravity), Hong Kong (Pccw) and Former Yugoslavia (Discovery Film).
Neon’s boutique label Super Ltd will distribute to North America later this autumn. Japanese and German buyers are also reportedly circling the film.
From a three-minute home film from 1939, the director recreates the story of...
- 5/9/2022
- by Geoffrey Macnab
- ScreenDaily
The heroine of Goran Stolevski’s You Won’t Be Alone is a witch, with echoes of vampire and zombie, yes, but mostly with a haunting desire for human connection in 19th century rural Macedonia.
The film’s Sundance premiere got great reviews (see Deadline’s here). It’s 94 Rotten Tomatoes Certified Fresh with critics as Focus Features opens Stolevski’s debut feature on 147 carefully curated screens.
You Won’t Be Alone is subtitled and its narrator, the witch Nevena, grew up alone in a cave with a limited grasp of language.
Nevena (Sara Klimoska) is freed from her cave by a hideously deformed evil spirit called the Wolf-Eatress, or Old Maid Maria (Anamaria Marinca), who grows increasingly vengeful as they wander the mountainside and...
The film’s Sundance premiere got great reviews (see Deadline’s here). It’s 94 Rotten Tomatoes Certified Fresh with critics as Focus Features opens Stolevski’s debut feature on 147 carefully curated screens.
You Won’t Be Alone is subtitled and its narrator, the witch Nevena, grew up alone in a cave with a limited grasp of language.
Nevena (Sara Klimoska) is freed from her cave by a hideously deformed evil spirit called the Wolf-Eatress, or Old Maid Maria (Anamaria Marinca), who grows increasingly vengeful as they wander the mountainside and...
- 4/1/2022
- by Jill Goldsmith
- Deadline Film + TV
Doc NYC Artistic Director Thom Powers on Mel Brooks in the Special Event screening of Lisa Hurwitz’s The Automat: “This is a real New Yorker’s film.”
In the final instalment with Doc NYC Artistic Director Thom Powers, we discuss a number of the films that are screening in the 12th edition of Doc NYC. I start with Marc Shaffer’s Exposing Muybridge which has comments from Eadweard Muybridge admirer Gary Oldman; Tom Donahue’s Dean Martin: King Of Cool; Alessandro Rossellini’s The Rossellinis; Andrea Arnold’s Cow; Vincent Liota’s Objects; Eva Orner’s Burning; Abby Epstein’s The Business Of Birth Control; Mads Brügger’s The Mole; Robert B Weide and Don Argott’s Kurt Vonnegut: Unstuck In Time; Peter Middleton and James Spinney’s The Real Charlie Chaplin; Lisa Hurwitz’s The Automat As A Special Event, and end with the Closing Night selection,...
In the final instalment with Doc NYC Artistic Director Thom Powers, we discuss a number of the films that are screening in the 12th edition of Doc NYC. I start with Marc Shaffer’s Exposing Muybridge which has comments from Eadweard Muybridge admirer Gary Oldman; Tom Donahue’s Dean Martin: King Of Cool; Alessandro Rossellini’s The Rossellinis; Andrea Arnold’s Cow; Vincent Liota’s Objects; Eva Orner’s Burning; Abby Epstein’s The Business Of Birth Control; Mads Brügger’s The Mole; Robert B Weide and Don Argott’s Kurt Vonnegut: Unstuck In Time; Peter Middleton and James Spinney’s The Real Charlie Chaplin; Lisa Hurwitz’s The Automat As A Special Event, and end with the Closing Night selection,...
- 11/15/2021
- by Anne-Katrin Titze
- eyeforfilm.co.uk
Nearly 15 years after their seminal documentary “The Business of Being Born” examined the birth experience in Western medicine, filmmakers Ricki Lake and Abby Epstein are reuniting to take on women’s reproductive health.
“The Business of Birth Control,” which premiered on Thursday at Doc NYC, is described as a fearless look at the movement to reexamine “the pill,” as younger generations of women start weighing drastic side effects and more nebulous consequences of taking “the same drugs our grandmothers did,” according to Lake.
Currently seeking distribution, the project arrives in a timely and contentious discussion about access to abortions across the country, and public figures like Britney Spears’ fight for body autonomy (the pop star’s assertion she had a forced Iud was a bombshell revelation from her ongoing conservatorship battle).
“This work has been so rewarding for me, to educate and empower women with information. I’m a lay person,...
“The Business of Birth Control,” which premiered on Thursday at Doc NYC, is described as a fearless look at the movement to reexamine “the pill,” as younger generations of women start weighing drastic side effects and more nebulous consequences of taking “the same drugs our grandmothers did,” according to Lake.
Currently seeking distribution, the project arrives in a timely and contentious discussion about access to abortions across the country, and public figures like Britney Spears’ fight for body autonomy (the pop star’s assertion she had a forced Iud was a bombshell revelation from her ongoing conservatorship battle).
“This work has been so rewarding for me, to educate and empower women with information. I’m a lay person,...
- 11/12/2021
- by Matt Donnelly
- Variety Film + TV
In the wake of executive producer Mike Richards’ resignation as the new host of Jeopardy! after facing allegations of employment discrimination, the Jeopardy! powers that be decided to go with someone as interim host who seemed immune to cancellation: erstwhile Nineties fashion plate, longtime network TV sweetheart, and neuroscientist Mayim Bialik.
On the surface, Bialik did indeed seem like a safe choice. Having built up cultural goodwill from her time on shows like Blossom and The Big Bang Theory, Bialik has carved out a career as a professional personality and lifestyle influencer of sorts,...
On the surface, Bialik did indeed seem like a safe choice. Having built up cultural goodwill from her time on shows like Blossom and The Big Bang Theory, Bialik has carved out a career as a professional personality and lifestyle influencer of sorts,...
- 8/25/2021
- by EJ Dickson
- Rollingstone.com
There are few better ways to tell a complicated true-life story than a well-made documentary. From Hulu and Netflix’s competing Fyre Festival documentaries, which both capture the mega-disaster of the exclusive event that never happened, to groundbreaking docuseries that rocked the music industry, like Lifetime’s “Surviving R. Kelly” and HBO’s “Leaving Neverland,” 2019 has been the year for riveting documentaries.
And if you’re still itching to see more powerful scammers get exposed, Netflix has you covered. “Dirty Money” chronicles real cases of corruption and corporate greed as it takes shape in drug dealing and politics, while “The Great Hack” reveals how Cambridge Analytica became a propaganda machine during the 2016 election. Other political docs include “Knock Down the House,” “Flint Town,” “Reversing Roe” and “Trump: An American Dream.”
But if you’re craving something more upbeat, you can always watch Beyonce’s “Homecoming,” which chronicles the singer’s...
And if you’re still itching to see more powerful scammers get exposed, Netflix has you covered. “Dirty Money” chronicles real cases of corruption and corporate greed as it takes shape in drug dealing and politics, while “The Great Hack” reveals how Cambridge Analytica became a propaganda machine during the 2016 election. Other political docs include “Knock Down the House,” “Flint Town,” “Reversing Roe” and “Trump: An American Dream.”
But if you’re craving something more upbeat, you can always watch Beyonce’s “Homecoming,” which chronicles the singer’s...
- 8/14/2019
- by BreAnna Bell
- Variety Film + TV
"As a mom myself, I would do it in a heartbeat. Knowing what I know..." Mangurama Consciousness Film has debuted an official trailer for their new documentary Weed The People, a film about the power that cannabis has to help cope and perhaps cure some childhood cancers. The film focuses on and follows a few different families as they decide to use cannabis for their children, with numerous studies and tests to back them up. "Some of their miraculous outcomes beget the unsettling question at the heart of the film: If weed is truly saving lives, why doesn’t the government want people to access it?" The age old question, and even though we may have answers, that still doesn't change anything. Hopefully films like this, that take us right into the lives of the families affected, will make a difference in changing people's minds. Take a look below. Here's...
- 9/21/2018
- by Alex Billington
- firstshowing.net
Mangurama and Bobb Films have bought U.S. and Canadian theatrical distribution rights for the documentary “Weed the People,” executive produced by Ricki Lake.
Abby Epstein, who teamed with Lake on “The Business of Being Born,” directed “Weed the People.” The film made its world premiere at the 2018 SXSW Festival, was the audience award winner at the Nashville Film Festival and will have a West Coast premiere at the Mill Valley Film Festival.
Epstein and Lake said, “We are thrilled to be working with Mangurama on the theatrical release of our documentary, ‘Weed The People.’ Following in the footsteps of ‘The Business of Being Born,’ which changed the way Americans looked at childbirth, we hope that ‘Weed The People’ will humanize the controversy around medical cannabis. As our film reveals, access to this plant has become a human rights issue.”
The film focuses on several families who obtain cannabis oil...
Abby Epstein, who teamed with Lake on “The Business of Being Born,” directed “Weed the People.” The film made its world premiere at the 2018 SXSW Festival, was the audience award winner at the Nashville Film Festival and will have a West Coast premiere at the Mill Valley Film Festival.
Epstein and Lake said, “We are thrilled to be working with Mangurama on the theatrical release of our documentary, ‘Weed The People.’ Following in the footsteps of ‘The Business of Being Born,’ which changed the way Americans looked at childbirth, we hope that ‘Weed The People’ will humanize the controversy around medical cannabis. As our film reveals, access to this plant has become a human rights issue.”
The film focuses on several families who obtain cannabis oil...
- 9/12/2018
- by Dave McNary
- Variety Film + TV
Ricki Lake & Abby Epstein On ‘Weed The People’: “Cannabis Is A Human Rights Issue” [Video Exclusive]
Executive producer of Weed The People Ricki Lake came up with the idea for the documentary after she and her husband took in a young girl with cancer. “My husband at the time, my beloved Christian Evans who passed away last year, he discovered Cbd and cannabis for his own healing, and also for […]
Source: uInterview
The post Ricki Lake & Abby Epstein On ‘Weed The People’: “Cannabis Is A Human Rights Issue” [Video Exclusive] appeared first on uInterview.
Source: uInterview
The post Ricki Lake & Abby Epstein On ‘Weed The People’: “Cannabis Is A Human Rights Issue” [Video Exclusive] appeared first on uInterview.
- 4/4/2018
- by Natasha Roy
- Uinterview
Jordan Peele’s The Last O.G to screen in Independent Episodic; Timur Bekmambetov’s Profile among SXSW line-up.
Source: Paramount Pictures
SXSW top brass on Wednesday (January 31) said the world premiere of John Krasinski’s A Quiet Place will open the 25th edition of the festival, which runs in Austin, Texas, from March 9-18.
Krasinski directed and stars in horror-thriller A Quiet Place alongside his wife Emily Blunt in the tale of an isolated family living in silence for fear of attack by an unknown force than tracks sound. Platinum Dunes produced the feature, which opens in the Us through on April 6 through Paramount.
SXSW launches the inaugural Independent Episodic section this year, an expansion on the Episodic section launched in 2014. Overall, the festival will screen 132 features, with additional titles to be announced.
The full line-up will include 44 films from first-time filmmakers, 86 world premieres, 11 North American premieres and five Us premieres. The films were culled...
Source: Paramount Pictures
SXSW top brass on Wednesday (January 31) said the world premiere of John Krasinski’s A Quiet Place will open the 25th edition of the festival, which runs in Austin, Texas, from March 9-18.
Krasinski directed and stars in horror-thriller A Quiet Place alongside his wife Emily Blunt in the tale of an isolated family living in silence for fear of attack by an unknown force than tracks sound. Platinum Dunes produced the feature, which opens in the Us through on April 6 through Paramount.
SXSW launches the inaugural Independent Episodic section this year, an expansion on the Episodic section launched in 2014. Overall, the festival will screen 132 features, with additional titles to be announced.
The full line-up will include 44 films from first-time filmmakers, 86 world premieres, 11 North American premieres and five Us premieres. The films were culled...
- 1/31/2018
- by Jeremy Kay
- ScreenDaily
The premiere post-tiff destination (September 20-25th) in the film community and a major leg up for narrative and non-fiction films in development, the Independent Filmmaker Project (Ifp) announced a whopping 140 projects selected for the Project Forum at the upcoming Ifp Independent Film Week. Made up of several sections (Rbc’s Emerging Storytellers program, No Borders International Co-Production Market and Spotlight on Documentaries), we find latest updates from the likes of docu-helmers Doug Block (112 Weddings) and Lana Wilson (After Tiller), and among the narrative items we find headliners in Andrew Haigh (coming off the well received 45 Years), Sophie Barthes (Cold Souls and Madame Bovary), Terence Nance (An Oversimplification of Her Beauty), Lawrence Michael Levine (Wild Canaries), Jorge Michel Grau (We Are What We Are), Eleanor Burke and Ron Eyal (Stranger Things) and new faces in Sundance’s large family in Charles Poekel (Christmas, Again) and Olivia Newman (First Match). Here...
- 7/22/2015
- by admin
- IONCINEMA.com
Read More: Bond/360 Acquires Birthing Documentary 'The Mama Sherpas' Ricki Lake, frequent star of John Waters' films -- most notably the original "Hairspray" -- and successful daytime talk show host, has gone through a major career shift since leaving her spot on television, refocusing her attention on producing documentaries about women's reproductive issues, including childbirth and birth control. Starting with her best friend Abby Epstein's "The Business of Being Born," Lake has used her name to bring attention to topics that mean something to her. After having her own experiences with alternative birthing options, Lake began her producing journey. Her latest project, executive producing Brigid Maher's "The Mama Sherpas," sees Lake working on a film that focuses on midwives and their involvement with births, both in private facilities and in hospital settings. Soon, Lake will being working on "Sweetening the Pill," a documentary...
- 7/21/2015
- by Kaeli Van Cott
- Indiewire
Former syndicated talk show host and Emmy award winner Ricki Lake has been a pioneering indie filmmaker focusing on women’s issues for nearly a decade. Her 2008 documentary “The Business of Being Born,” about the benefits of home-birthing over hospitalization, is a must-see in modern women’s medicine, as well as an early hit at the dawn of streaming. Lake and filmmaker Abby Epstein spoke with TheWrap about their next film project, based on the book “Sweeting the Pill: or How We Got Hooked on Hormonal Birth Control,” and it’s premise, the increasing toxicity of modern birth control, as well as the advances Silicon.
- 6/10/2015
- by Matt Donnelly
- The Wrap
Read More: Just in Time for Mother's Day: Cavu Pictures to Release 'Breastmilk' Into Theaters Bond/360 has acquired new documentary "The Mama Sherpas," executive produced by Ricki Lake and Abby Epstein ("The Business of Being Born"). Directed by Brigid Maher ("Veiled Voices"), the documentary takes a look inside the collaborative practices of midwives and doctors, and the growing evolution of birth perceptions across the country. The film provides a window into the intimate lives of those midwives working within the hospital system. The documentary focuses on a big shift in the birthing industry: an increased number of Caesarean sections. Recently, the idea of "collaborative care" for a pregnant woman, during which doctors and midwives work together, has become more popular. Research shows that these care models produce better results for both mothers and their children. “We were thrilled to discover Brigid Maher's...
- 4/23/2015
- by Anya Jaremko-Greenwold
- Indiewire
Indie Film Distributor has acquired the documentary "Breastmilk" with plans to release it into theaters, beginning Wednesday, May 7th -- just in time for Mother's Day -- in New York City and May 16th in Los Angeles before expanding throughout the summer. Directed and produced by first-time filmmaker Dana Ben-Ari, the film explores modern practices of early childhood feeding and the surprisingly complex dynamics that surround breastfeeding. "When we saw Breastmilk at both the Woodstock Film Festival and the Doc NYC film festival, it was obvious how passionate audiences were for both the film and the subject of breastfeeding. Breastmilk is the perfect film for audiences of all ages to feed on. Mothers, fathers, families… there’s something there for everyone. We’re excited to be working with new and emerging talent like Dana Ben-Ari," said Cavu Pictures’ Co-Presidents Michael Sergio & Isil Bagdadi said. The film was executive produced by Ricki Lake and Abby Epstein,...
- 4/7/2014
- by Luke Slattery
- Indiewire
For any new parent, the pros and cons of feeding your baby with breastmilk versus formula opens up no shortage of opinion from experts, doctors, other mothers and more. But one documentary is tackling the topic, and not just exploring the choice to breastfeed, but the various other areas the decision often touches upon. Directed and produced by Dana Ben-Ari and executive produced by Ricki Lake and Abby Epstein—the creative team behind the highly celebrated doc "The Business Of Being Born"—"Breastmilk" follows five New York City mothers from late pregnancy until their babies are a year old, exploring the truth, sexuality, politics, and emotions surrounding modern breastfeeding. And in this extended segment of clips from the film, we visit each of the mothers profiled in the movie in a nice cross-section of the subjects explored from feeding in public to how breastfeeding has possible ramifications on the physical...
- 11/18/2013
- by Kevin Jagernauth
- The Playlist
We already knew that Amber Rose and Wiz Khalifa's baby will be a boy with a boss name and an understanding of his dad's affinity for weed. But we did not know how the couple planned to give birth ... until now.
Rose, who has been diligently chronicling her pregnancy on Twitter, recently tweeted, "Thx @RickiLake 4 making "The Business of Being Born" it changed my life & I'm looking forward 2 my home water birth wish me luck! Hugs :-)" Rose is referring to a 2008 documentary that Lake made with director Abby Epstein, examining birthing practices in the U.S.
And in a new interview with Los Angeles radio show "Big Boy’s Neighborhood," Khalifa opens up about the big day. “We gonna have a midwife and a doula at the crib and she’s gonna be in a pool and it’s gonna be like a relaxing environment and when she...
Rose, who has been diligently chronicling her pregnancy on Twitter, recently tweeted, "Thx @RickiLake 4 making "The Business of Being Born" it changed my life & I'm looking forward 2 my home water birth wish me luck! Hugs :-)" Rose is referring to a 2008 documentary that Lake made with director Abby Epstein, examining birthing practices in the U.S.
And in a new interview with Los Angeles radio show "Big Boy’s Neighborhood," Khalifa opens up about the big day. “We gonna have a midwife and a doula at the crib and she’s gonna be in a pool and it’s gonna be like a relaxing environment and when she...
- 2/8/2013
- by The Huffington Post
- Huffington Post
Twentieth Television has announced that The Ricki Lake Show has been cancelled. There won't be a second season but original episodes will air for awhile, to finish out the season, reports Deadline.
Stephen Brown, Twentieth Executive VP said, "While we are proud of the topics the program tackled including childhood obesity, life-after the military, divorce, and addiction we were simply not able to breakthrough the crowded talk show marketplace."
Host Lake noted, "I am so proud of the shows we completed this season, sparking important conversations about everything from raising children to mental illness to suicide prevention to coming out... I will continue to be an active and passionate voice for subjects that are close to my heart through a variety of platforms -- and a return to my documentary filmmaking work with Abby Epstein."
What do you think? Were tou...
Stephen Brown, Twentieth Executive VP said, "While we are proud of the topics the program tackled including childhood obesity, life-after the military, divorce, and addiction we were simply not able to breakthrough the crowded talk show marketplace."
Host Lake noted, "I am so proud of the shows we completed this season, sparking important conversations about everything from raising children to mental illness to suicide prevention to coming out... I will continue to be an active and passionate voice for subjects that are close to my heart through a variety of platforms -- and a return to my documentary filmmaking work with Abby Epstein."
What do you think? Were tou...
- 2/5/2013
- by TVSeriesFinale.com
- TVSeriesFinale.com
Well, we know who is definitely not the next Oprah. That person is Ricki Lake, whose "The Ricki Lake Show" was canceled Monday after one season. The show first premiered last September but, according to Reuters, couldn't stand up to competition from Katie Couric, Jeff Probst and Anderson Cooper. Cooper didn't do so well either, with his show also ending after its current season.
This was Lake's second journey into daytime television. Her first talk show, "Ricki Lake," ran for 11 seasons, before she made the call to end it, in order to spend time with her family.
In a statement, Lake says, "I am so proud of the shows we completed this season." She plans to return to documentary film making with business partner Abby Epstein, saying, "I am excited to create meaningful and provocative films similar to our 2007 project, 'The Business of Being Born.'"...
This was Lake's second journey into daytime television. Her first talk show, "Ricki Lake," ran for 11 seasons, before she made the call to end it, in order to spend time with her family.
In a statement, Lake says, "I am so proud of the shows we completed this season." She plans to return to documentary film making with business partner Abby Epstein, saying, "I am excited to create meaningful and provocative films similar to our 2007 project, 'The Business of Being Born.'"...
- 2/4/2013
- by editorial@zap2it.com
- Zap2It - From Inside the Box
Ricki Lake's return to daytime talk television is no more. Twentieth Television announced Monday that "The Ricki Lake Show," which premiered in September, will not continue into the 2013-2014 season. Declaring herself "so proud" of the series, Lake said that she will "continue to be an active and passionate voice for subjects that are close to my heart through a variety of platforms." Lake also said that she will re-focus on making documentaries with Abby Epstein, with whom she partnered on the documentary "The Business of Being Born." "I am so proud of the...
- 2/4/2013
- by Tim Kenneally
- The Wrap
There are great documentaries about artists (like Crumb or Valentino), or documentaries that shine a light on brain-tickling cultural phenomena (like Paris Is Burning or The King of Kong: A Fistful of Quarters). But I think it’s fair to say that the vast majority of documentaries that get shown at festivals, that win awards, that arrive in theaters near you — or video-on-demand schedules — are political or social or historical exposés. They’re about the war in Iraq, or the food we eat, or climate change, or convicted killers who may be innocent, or illegal oil drilling in South America,...
- 11/10/2011
- by Owen Gleiberman
- EW - Inside Movies
Ricki Lake has more than dancing on her mind this week.
For sure, she must be giving great thought to tonight's (Monday, Nov. 7) edition of ABC's "Dancing With the Stars," in which she and partner Derek Hough will face off against the other four finalist couples as they learn which song they draw just before they perform. But Lake has another big event this week, and one with much personal meaning.
The mother of two is the executive producer of "More Business of Being Born," a documentary series getting its DVD release Tuesday (Nov. 8). It's a sequel to the 2008 project "The Business of Being Born," in which she and director Abby Epstein explored modern aspects of birth, from the different methods to the cost entailed.
"It's this incredible snowball effect where people are learning something from it they didn't know," Lake tells Zap2it, "then passing that onto a friend,...
For sure, she must be giving great thought to tonight's (Monday, Nov. 7) edition of ABC's "Dancing With the Stars," in which she and partner Derek Hough will face off against the other four finalist couples as they learn which song they draw just before they perform. But Lake has another big event this week, and one with much personal meaning.
The mother of two is the executive producer of "More Business of Being Born," a documentary series getting its DVD release Tuesday (Nov. 8). It's a sequel to the 2008 project "The Business of Being Born," in which she and director Abby Epstein explored modern aspects of birth, from the different methods to the cost entailed.
"It's this incredible snowball effect where people are learning something from it they didn't know," Lake tells Zap2it, "then passing that onto a friend,...
- 11/7/2011
- by editorial@zap2it.com
- Pop2it
Courtesy More Business of Being Born
When celebrity mom-of-two Ricki Lake joined forces with filmmaker Abby Epstein for The Business of Being Born documentary in 2008, women were led on a journey directing them to a birthing plan that best suited them and their baby.
Now Lake and Epstein are back with the new, four-part More Business of Being Born series ,that not only continues the individualized birthing quest, but also explores today’s maternity care system, including doulas, birthing centers and the recent spike in cesareans.
Plus, you’ll hear exclusive interviews from star mamas like Gisele Bündchen, Cindy Crawford,...
When celebrity mom-of-two Ricki Lake joined forces with filmmaker Abby Epstein for The Business of Being Born documentary in 2008, women were led on a journey directing them to a birthing plan that best suited them and their baby.
Now Lake and Epstein are back with the new, four-part More Business of Being Born series ,that not only continues the individualized birthing quest, but also explores today’s maternity care system, including doulas, birthing centers and the recent spike in cesareans.
Plus, you’ll hear exclusive interviews from star mamas like Gisele Bündchen, Cindy Crawford,...
- 9/19/2011
- by Anya
- People - CelebrityBabies
Courtesy Ricki Lake
For Ricki Lake, working on the documentary The Business of Being Born was a labor of love.
“I worked on this project for three-and-a-half years. My son who is born in the movie is now 10,” she tells People.
“It’s a lot of time, a lot of effort, and just hope that the public would care about the issue.”
Released on DVD in 2008, The Business of Being Born follows Lake and director Abby Epstein, whose pregnancy is also depicted in the film, as they investigate birthing practices in the U.S., from hospital care to midwifery and home births.
For Ricki Lake, working on the documentary The Business of Being Born was a labor of love.
“I worked on this project for three-and-a-half years. My son who is born in the movie is now 10,” she tells People.
“It’s a lot of time, a lot of effort, and just hope that the public would care about the issue.”
Released on DVD in 2008, The Business of Being Born follows Lake and director Abby Epstein, whose pregnancy is also depicted in the film, as they investigate birthing practices in the U.S., from hospital care to midwifery and home births.
- 7/13/2011
- by Sarah
- People - CelebrityBabies
Palm Springs International Film Festival
PALM SPRINGS -- Apparently Prissy from Gone With the Wind isn't the only one who don't know nothin' about birthin' babies.
From the perspective of The Business of Being Born, an eye-opening look at maternity in America, the nation's hospitals and insurance companies place a close second.
Initiated by executive producer Ricki Lake and directed by Abby Epstein, this investigation of contemporary childbirth "management" is in many ways The Inconvenient Truth of obstetrics, not to mention a convincing endorsement of midwifery.
Being Born screened at the Palm Springs International Film Festival ahead of a limited theatrical run. It will be offered by Netflix in February.
A close-up and personal film, in which several of its subjects -- including Lake -- allow the camera to capture their chosen methods of delivery in indisputably intimate detail, it is a must-see for any woman who's pregnant or planning to have kids.
At first glance, the notion of deliberately giving birth outside of a hospital (as Lake did in 2001, in her bathtub with her second child) might seem to be a risky proposition.
But then come all the disturbing questions:
-- Why does the U.S. have the second-worst newborn death rate in the developed world?
-- Why are more than 40% of the deliveries done in some New York hospitals all Caesarean sections?
-- And why, according to a study, are the peak hours for Caesarean procedures at 4 in the afternoon and 10 at night?
As the film probes the circumstances that have led to midwife-attended births in America dropping from 50% in 1938 to less than 8% today (whether in or outside hospitals), while in the five countries with the lowest infant mortality rates, midwives figure into 70% of those births, it points to those Michael Moore-approved usual suspects: namely the health care and insurance industries.
But though some doctors admit to pressing for time-efficient, $14 billion-a-year Caesarean sections as a way of avoiding negligence claims, and questionable practices are nothing new (Thalidomide, anyone?), Being Born makes its best case when documenting those natural-birth alternatives.
Casting vanity to the wind, Epstein's subjects permit Paulo Netto's unimposing camera to witness the miracle of birth in a big-business-free environment, and the effect, like the production itself, is as poignant as it is potent.
THE BUSINESS OF BEING BORN
Red Envelope Entertainment and International Film Circuit
Credits:
Director: Abby Epstein
Executive producer: Ricki Lake
Producers: Abby Epstein, Amy Slotnick, Paulo Netto
Director of photography: Paulo Netto
Editor: Madeleine Gavin
Running time -- 87 minutes
No MPAA rating...
PALM SPRINGS -- Apparently Prissy from Gone With the Wind isn't the only one who don't know nothin' about birthin' babies.
From the perspective of The Business of Being Born, an eye-opening look at maternity in America, the nation's hospitals and insurance companies place a close second.
Initiated by executive producer Ricki Lake and directed by Abby Epstein, this investigation of contemporary childbirth "management" is in many ways The Inconvenient Truth of obstetrics, not to mention a convincing endorsement of midwifery.
Being Born screened at the Palm Springs International Film Festival ahead of a limited theatrical run. It will be offered by Netflix in February.
A close-up and personal film, in which several of its subjects -- including Lake -- allow the camera to capture their chosen methods of delivery in indisputably intimate detail, it is a must-see for any woman who's pregnant or planning to have kids.
At first glance, the notion of deliberately giving birth outside of a hospital (as Lake did in 2001, in her bathtub with her second child) might seem to be a risky proposition.
But then come all the disturbing questions:
-- Why does the U.S. have the second-worst newborn death rate in the developed world?
-- Why are more than 40% of the deliveries done in some New York hospitals all Caesarean sections?
-- And why, according to a study, are the peak hours for Caesarean procedures at 4 in the afternoon and 10 at night?
As the film probes the circumstances that have led to midwife-attended births in America dropping from 50% in 1938 to less than 8% today (whether in or outside hospitals), while in the five countries with the lowest infant mortality rates, midwives figure into 70% of those births, it points to those Michael Moore-approved usual suspects: namely the health care and insurance industries.
But though some doctors admit to pressing for time-efficient, $14 billion-a-year Caesarean sections as a way of avoiding negligence claims, and questionable practices are nothing new (Thalidomide, anyone?), Being Born makes its best case when documenting those natural-birth alternatives.
Casting vanity to the wind, Epstein's subjects permit Paulo Netto's unimposing camera to witness the miracle of birth in a big-business-free environment, and the effect, like the production itself, is as poignant as it is potent.
THE BUSINESS OF BEING BORN
Red Envelope Entertainment and International Film Circuit
Credits:
Director: Abby Epstein
Executive producer: Ricki Lake
Producers: Abby Epstein, Amy Slotnick, Paulo Netto
Director of photography: Paulo Netto
Editor: Madeleine Gavin
Running time -- 87 minutes
No MPAA rating...
NEW YORK -- Netflix's Red Envelope Entertainment and New Line Home Entertainment have acquired North American rights to producer Ricki Lake's childbirth documentary The Business of Being Born.
Red Envelope is planning a theatrical run in New York, Los Angeles and San Francisco at the end of October, hiring International Film Circuit to handle theatrical marketing, promotion and distribution. The film will debut on Netflix before the end of the year, followed by a 2008 New Line home video release.
After experiencing the 36-hour delivery of her first child in March 1997, Lake enlisted director Abby Epstein to chronicle the lives of several expecting New York City mothers. The resulting feature examines the history and financial side of childbirth through their experiences and interviews with obstetricians and other experts.
"When Abby and I set out to make this film, our goal was to help inform as many women as possible about the full range of choices they have," said Lake.
Red Envelope is planning a theatrical run in New York, Los Angeles and San Francisco at the end of October, hiring International Film Circuit to handle theatrical marketing, promotion and distribution. The film will debut on Netflix before the end of the year, followed by a 2008 New Line home video release.
After experiencing the 36-hour delivery of her first child in March 1997, Lake enlisted director Abby Epstein to chronicle the lives of several expecting New York City mothers. The resulting feature examines the history and financial side of childbirth through their experiences and interviews with obstetricians and other experts.
"When Abby and I set out to make this film, our goal was to help inform as many women as possible about the full range of choices they have," said Lake.
- 8/30/2007
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
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