Birth of a Surgeon

With more than half a million women dying in pregnancy or childbirth worldwide, Mozambique's surgical training programmes are being hailed as a model solution in confronting the maternal health crisis facing developing countries. The film captures one woman's story on the frontlines of improving maternal mortality, but it also demonstrates how low-cost, community-based health initiatives are changing the face of public health in Africa.

Birth of a Surgeon follows Emilia Cumbane, one of the first midwives-in-training. She performs cesareans and hysterectomies in operating rooms in rural Mozambique. We follow Emilia from her home in the Mozambican capital Maputo into intensive medical classes, and watch as she fights for recognition of her surgical competence.

Team Partner

Loui Bernal, producer

Producer / Production Details

Filmator/LivingPeopleDocumentary in co-production with Thirteen Wide Angle
Supported by Swedish Film Institute, Swedish Television, DR, IKON