In October 2019, 30-year-old Shamony Gibson tragically died 13 days following the birth of her son. Two months later, the film team began documenting Shamony's surviving mother, Shawnee Benton Gibson, and bereaved partner, Omari Maynard, as they began to process what happened and figure out their new normal.
In April 2020, 26-year-old Amber Rose Isaac, died due to an emergency c-section. Within weeks of Amber's death, Omari reaches out to Amber's surviving partner Bruce McIntyre and a lifelong bond is formed. Together, Omari and Bruce begin the fight for justice for their partners with their families and community by their side, while caring for their children as newly single parents.
The film witness these two families become ardent activists in the maternal health space, seeking justice through legislation, medical accountability, community, and the power of art. Their work introduces a myriad of people including a growing brotherhood of surviving Black fathers, along with the work of midwives and physicians on the ground fighting for institutional reform. Through their collective journeys, the film brings us to the front lines of the growing birth justice movement that is demanding systemic change within our medical system and government.
Paula Eiselt is an independent filmmaker drawn to stories that disrupt strong-held assumptions. A co-production with ITVS/PBS and Arte/SWR, her award-winning documentary feature debut 93Queen was released theatrically across the U.S. and Canada, including a six week hold over at NYC’s IFC Center. Now streaming across HBOMax’s U.S and Latin American platforms, 93Queen was broadcast nationally on PBS’s POV, as well as internationally on ARTE in France and Germany, UR in Sweden, yes DocU in Israel, and CBC in Canada. 93Queen played at over 75 film festivals worldwide and was selected for the U.S. State Department’s American Film Showcase. Paula is currently a fellow at Laurene Powell Jobs and Davis Guggenheim’s Concordia Studio where she developed her latest feature length documentary Aftershock, now in Post-production. Her work has been supported by ITVS, the Sundance Institute Documentary Film Fund, Sundance Catalyst, Impact Partners, American Stories Documentary Fund (sponsored by CNN Films), Points North Institute, Just Films | Ford Foundation, NYSCA, Fork Films, Gucci Tribeca Doc Fund, IDA Enterprise Fund, IDA Pare Lorentz Doc Fund, Chicago Media Project, the Hartley Film Foundation, IFP, and Women Make Movies. Paula is previously a Sundance Producers Summit fellow and IFP Filmmaker Lab fellow.
