Midwifery Today Short Video Contest
“Birth Is a Human Rights Issue”

Screening of Winning Videos at the Midwifery Today Conference
in Strasbourg, France • 29 September – 3 October 2010

Go to main Strasbourg Conference page     Download ENTRY FORM and RELEASE FORM

Ceremony and screenings

The winning videos will be shown at the Strasbourg conference.

The awards will be handed out the last day of the Midwifery Today Conference in Strasbourg, France. The videographers’ presence is not required but it will be fun to be there. If videographers are not present their award will be mailed.

Spirit of the Conference

Midwifery Today has been working since 1985 to bring women and caregivers evidence-based information about optimal birth and the different ways to provide it.

Midwifery Today, Inc., is committed to promoting safe, healthy and happy outcomes for mothers and babies, and believes that the midwifery model of non-interventive, preventive care should be the standard of care throughout the world.

As we reach the end of the first decade of this millennium, spreading information about better birth becomes crucial to the future of birth around the world. We have seen increases in the rates of cesareans, inductions, augmentations and so on, as well as various conditions resulting from the industrialization of birth—such as posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), bonding and breastfeeding difficulties, respiratory conditions, poor bio-neurological beginnings and other health conditions. For these reasons policy-makers, hospital administrators, care givers and parents must strive for the education of the general public about the best options for pregnancy and birth and bring on a bright future for the emerging birth culture and the birth of our children.

Our culture is increasingly media-oriented and, as a result, films such as Orgasmic Birth, What Babies Want and The Business of Being Born, as well as podcasts and Web information inspire couples to make better decisions for their births. Consequently, caregivers have an incentive to propose new protocols for maternity care with the information families need.

In this spirit we invite all of you to participate in the Midwifery Today short video contest in Strasbourg, France, 2010. Whether a filmmaker, midwife, doctor, doula, parent, artist or activist, you can participate by entering a short video in any of the three categories. We appreciate documentary style, advertising style, parody and fiction.

You may include any birth footage or interviews as long as you have written permission from the "actors" and/or videographers.

Judges: Jan Tritten, Debra Pascali-Bonaro, Robbie Davis-Floyd, Elena Piantino and Naolí Vinaver. (Please click linked names for biographies.)

HOW TO ENTER

1. Make a video, following Videographer's Guidelines plus Rules & Regulations, on the entry form.
2. Upload video to Internet via YouTube. (See http://www.youtube.com/t/yt_handbook_produce)
3. Pay US $10 entry fee for each video to Midwifery Today by phone, fax, post, or in our online store. See contact info below. Payment accepted by check, money order, Visa or MasterCard. If you cannot use one of these payment methods, e-mail admin@midwiferytoday.com for other payment options.
4. Fill out entry form and as many release forms as needed and e-mail to: jan@midwiferytoday.com or fax to +1 541-344-1422. Download forms here.
5. Receive confirmation of entry by e-mail.
6. If you have won, we will notify you by e-mail. You may come to the Midwifery Today conference in Strasbourg, France, to receive your prize, or it will be mailed to you.
7. Upon request, provide a high quality version of the video on DVD for use by Midwifery Today, to be mailed to: Midwifery Today, Inc., PO Box 2672, Eugene OR 97402 USA

Contact Information

Midwifery Today, Inc. • Phone +1 541-344-7438 • Fax +1 541-344-1422 • PO Box 2672, Eugene OR 97402 USA

More Information

• To receive a printed program by mail, please e-mail us with your request.
• Attend other Midwifery Today Conferences around the world!
• Learn more about birth resources in France.