There is a growing concern systemic medical concern in America due to childbirth complications that directors Paula Eiselt and Tonya Lew Lee wanted to address in their documentary Aftershock.

After years of research and talks, the documentary follows the partners and families trying to raise awareness of institutional failures from hospitals and governments paying little attention to pregnant Black women resulting in their deaths.

Here is the Sundance description of the film:

An alarmingly disproportionate number of Black women are failed every year by the United States maternal health system. Shamony Gibson and Amber Rose Isaac were vibrant, excited mothers-to-be whose deaths due to childbirth complications were preventable. Now, their partners and families are determined to sound a rallying cry around this chilling yet largely ignored crisis.

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LRM Online’s Gig Patta talked with directors Paula Eiselt and Tonya Lewis Lee on how this important documentary originated and was crafted. We discussed their documentary subjects, the national problem, systemic issues in the hospitals and governments, and possible solutions to the growing problem in America.

Paula Eiselt directs and produces films about characters in unbelievable circumstances. Her award-winning documentary film 93Queen is about a group of tenacious Hasidic women in Brooklyn taking matters into their own hands to form the first all-female volunteer ambulance corps in New York City.

Aftershock marks Tonya Lewis Lee’s directorial debut. She was the executive producer of a few television series, including Miracle Boys, She’s Gotta Have It, and the documentary That’s What I’m Talking About. Also, she was a producer with Netflix’s Monster about a 17-year-old film student from Harlem whose life turned upside down when he was charged with murder.

Aftershock documentary is currently being showcased at the Sundance Film Festival 2022.

Watch the exclusive interview with Paula Eiselt and Tonya Lewis Lee below. Let us know what you think of the interview.

Source: LRM Online Exclusive