Unseen

Melody got pregnant at the age of sixteen and her childbirth ended with a C-section. The doctors did their job, but without any cooperation with Melody. Her second childbirth was vaginal, but the attitude of the caregivers remained unchanged. The events that she experienced during childbirth left her with lasting deep pain. Before her third labour, she responded to the touches and work of the caregivers in a confused and aggressive way. Fortunately, the assisting midwife correctly assessed her behaviour and mediated the contact with a therapist, Penny Simkin. Thanks to their meeting, Melody’s life changed, and she started dealing with her trauma.

Filmmaker Maia Mariniak captures the controversial topic of childbirth trauma and the violence present at birth. She places the story of Melody along stories of other women from different countries, to capture the complexity and the controversy of the topic. She depicts the unseen reality in society and the women who have so far been silenced by the pressure of their environment or medical staff.”Unseen” opens for the need for change not only in Slovakia, but also throughout the world.