Sundance prize goes to 'Midwives' — about a Buddhist midwife and her Muslim apprentice
The documentary follows a Buddhist and a Muslim — who don't always get along — as they provide health care to Muslim women and children despite growing political and religious tensions in Myanmar.
The prestigious Sundance festival just gave one of its big awards to Midwives, a film about a midwife and her apprentice. That sounds like a simple story — but in fact, it's full of twists and turns.
The midwife, Hla, is Buddhist, part of the majority population in Myanmar. Her apprentice, Nyo Nyo, is Muslim, part of the Rohingya minority that has been denied basic human rights. They get along — but they also personify the tensions between the communities.
On Friday, the film won a Special Jury Prize for Excellence in Vérité Filmmaking at the Sundance Film Festival.
Filmmaker Dawn Porter in a Twitter video on Friday: "It's a surprising story of female self-determination in the face of militaristic oppression,
