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In Midwives, amid an environment of ever-increasing chaos and violence against the Muslim Rohingya population in Myanmar, two midwives, one Buddhist and one Muslim, work side by side in a makeshift clinic in western Myanmar, providing medical services to the Rohingya of Rakhine State.

Synopsis

Hla and Nyo Nyo live in a country torn by conflict. Hla is a Buddhist and the owner of an under-resourced medical clinic in western Myanmar, where the Rohingya (a Muslim minority community) are persecuted and denied basic rights. Nyo Nyo is a Rohingya and an apprentice midwife who acts as assistant and translator at the clinic. Despite living in the area for generations, Nyo Nyo and her family are still considered intruders. Risking her own safety daily by helping Muslim patients, she is determined to become a steady healthcare provider and resource for the families who desperately need her. Snow Hnin Ei Hlaing’s remarkable feature debut was filmed over five turbulent years in Myanmar, shining a spotlight on these courageous women who unite to bring forth life, despite the risks and challenges of their own, offering a rare insight into the complex reality of Myanmar and its people.

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Media Gallery

Image of a baby's sleeping face on a woman's shoulder
Film poster for MIDWIVES a painting of women on a bike.

“Even though we still hear bombing, I’m going to build my clinic. We used to be scared. But not anymore. We have nowhere else to run, and nowhere to hide .”
Nyo Nyo, Film Participant, Midwives

Learn about HRW's work in Myanmar
December 13, 2021
Myanmar: Junta Blocks Lifesaving Aid
October 21, 2016
Burma: Aid Blocked to Rakhine State

Credits

Snow Hnin Ei Hlaing

Director
Woman with long dark hair wearing a green scarf

Snow Hnin Ei Hlaing has worked as a freelance filmmaker in Myanmar since 2006, acting as director, producer, editor, and sound recordist after attending film schools in both Myanmar and Germany. Her documentary short Burmese Butterfly played festivals in more than 20 countries, and PERIOD@PERIOD won for Best Short at the Wathann Film Festival. Midwives is her feature documentary debut.

Mila Aung-Thwin

Producer
Man with facial hair holding camera

Producer/Editor Mila Aung-Thwin is co-founder of the Montreal documentary production company EyeSteelFilm. He has produced more than 40 feature documentaries including Last Train Home (winner of 2 Emmy Awards); Up the Yangtze (Independent Spirit Award Nominee; Golden Horse Award winner); Rip: A Remix Manifesto (Webby Award Honoree; IDFA audience choice prize winner); and I Am the Blues (Canadian Screen Award winner). He is the executive producer and editor of Softie (Sundance World Cinema Documentary Special Jury Award winner for Editing). He directed, produced, and edited Let There Be Light (Big Sky Film Fest’s Artistic Vision award winner) about mankind’s epic quest for fusion energy. He has worked with broadcasters around the world, including National Geographic, BBC, ZDF/ARTE, NHK Japan, PBS, etc. He served for five years as President of RIDM, Montreal's international documentary festival and has served on the juries of the Sundance Film Festival, the International Emmy Awards, and the New Zealand Screen Awards. He frequently mentors and gives documentary storytelling seminars to upcoming filmmakers - recent workshops include Guangzhou, China; Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso; and Yangon, Myanmar.

Photo supplied by Dogwoof.

Bob Moore

Producer
Producer Bob Moore has facial hair and smiles at the camera

Producer Bob Moore is Co-President and Creative Producer at EyeSteelFilm in Montreal where he has produced over 40 feature documentaries since 2008. Together with his talented partners and collaborators, he has been the recipient of over 100 international awards, including Emmys, Cinema Eyes, Golden Horses, Owls, Phoenixes, and a variety of other celebratory animal-themed prizes. He’s been the subject of a Producer’s Spotlight at the Cannes Marché du Film, is currently an advisor and mentor working with the Sundance Film Festival, IDFA, DMZ Docs South Korea, QUMRA, Tokyo Docs, Dhaka DocLab Bangladesh, Hot Docs, and RIDM.

Photo supplied by Dogwoof.

Ulla Lehmann

Producer

Producer Ulla Lehmann was born in Berlin and has lived in Germany and France. Together with film director Andrea Roggon, she founded AMA FILM. The company focuses on the development and production of creative documentaries and films of artistic and social relevance, e.g. MÜLHEIM TEXAS by Andrea Roggon (Max Ophüls Preis, Crossing Europe), THE INNER LIGHT by Stefan Sick (Berlinale, Shanghai IFF), WOOD AND WATER by Jonas Bak (Berlinale, New Directors/New Films N.Y.) and MIDWIVES by Snow Hnin Ei Hlaing (Sundance Film Festival). AMA FILM also acted as distributor and released THE INNER LIGHT to over 70 German cinemas.

Photo supplied by Dogwoof.