04.03.25, 20:30, Motherland (2017)

Because maternity never sleeps... Four days before International Women's Day, we take you behind the curtains of the world's busiest maternity hospital. Dr Jose Fabella Hospital is located in the Philippines, one of the poorest and most populous countries in the world. Mums-to-be make the most of it in shared beds. Deliveries happen by the conveyor belt and midwives literally have their hands full with newborn little ones. A hundred or so a day, every day.

In this frenzy, three women - Leah, Aira and Lerma - share their stories, through special moments between their families, doctors, social workers and other mothers. Although all three do not have an ideal home situation, they show their resilience through their optimism, humour and honesty. Award-winning Filipino-American director Ramona S. Diaz made Motherland an intimate documentary in a cinema vérité style that teaches to understand the daily rhythms of the hospital. Pregnant women arrive, mothers with babies leave. What does it mean to bring a new life into an almost unlivable world?

This film is introduced by researcher Marlies Vanhooren affiliated with UGent's Human Rights Centre.