Tell us about your experience with pregnancy during the Coronavirus pandemic.
If you’re sending files for the first time,
use this form for first time users.
If you already sent files
About the Project
Who
Thirtynine-week-pregnant-filmmaker Emily Railsback and video journalist Pierre Kattar are co-directing Expecting Covid, a documentary film about pregnancy during the Coronavirus pandemic. Emily began making video diaries as a way to cope with all the new restrictions and unknown fears related to her impending due date in a hospital that might soon be overrun by COVID-19. Pierre, at the front lines of the crisis in Rome, suggested we make this a global story by asking women all over the world to participate in our video diary documentary (It’s totally social-distancing approved!)
What
We’d like you to be a part of this historical storytelling project by helping us document your life during the pandemic through virtual interviews and footage you share with us. This invitation is for all pregnant women, their partners, families, healthcare providers, midwives & doulas. What is your life like? What struggles and fears do you have? What will you have to overcome? Do you have the care you need?
Why
By sharing our stories, we can create a global network of support and give hope to pregnant women around the world.
How
Get in touch and we’ll schedule virtual interviews with you. Record yourself doing things; exercise, a visit to the doctor or midwife, labor, the birth itself, postpartum recovery, breastfeeding, etc. Share your thoughts with video diaries. Upload your files here. When uploading video files, tell us your name and the date.
Questions for Expecting Mothers
If you plan on sending video diaries, in every video, start by saying the date and time and how many weeks pregnant you are. Keep it real and candid!
First video diary
Please say your name, age, how many months/weeks/days till your due date, where you’re from and where you’re currently living.
Introduce us to your baby!
What are you anticipating about birth / motherhood?
Do you have any fears about birth or motherhood?
How has the COVID-19 pandemic affected you? Community? Finances?
Tell us how your experience being pregnant has gone so far? Share any details you feel comfortable sharing.
Do you have any new fears for you relating to Covid-19?
How have your habits changed since the coronavirus?
Are you getting the support you need? Or has it changed?
Has your birthing plan changed since the pandemic?
Show us your belly!
Other video diary topics to consider:
Update us on any news, changing feelings, belly size
Updates before and after test results or talks with your practitioner?
Updates to your prenatal care or birth plan?
Updates on life and family changes
How did you know you were pregnant?
Ask your partners and family to weigh in filming their own diaries
If possible, record your conversations with doctors, nurses, family members (we’ll need their signed release form. If they are minors, please use this minor consent form and sign as their parent or guardian.)
Filming Techniques
When recording, hold the phone horizontally, not vertically.
Stay close to the microphone for better audio.
Show us your life: what you’re eating, reading, watching, drinking, exercising...
Try looking straight into the camera. Imagine you’re talking to a friend.
Have your phone/ipad/computer as stable as possible.
Record from as many places as possible: Rooms in house, city, car...
Try to have light facing you, not behind you so that your face is lit well
Send your video diaries
If you’re sending video files for the first time, use this form for first time users.
If you already sent video files use this form.
The Filmmakers
Emily is an independent film director, screenwriter, producer, and editor who teaches Cinema and Television Arts at Columbia College Chicago. She shot, directed, and edited “Our Blood Is Wine”, a feature-length documentary on an iPhone 6, capturing intimate portraits of rural winemakers reviving 8,000 year old traditions in the Republic of Georgia that were nearly lost during the Soviet rule. The film premiered at the Berlinale International Film Festival in 2018, and was distributed theatrically by Music Box Films (US), Magnet Film (Berlin), and Uplink (Japan). Railsback's prior work consists of narrative short films, music videos, visual arts and international studies. While teaching kids living in Peruvian slums, she created an award-winning photography and painting exhibit "A Juxtaposition of Peruvian Life," documenting quality of life among the poor in cities versus the Peruvian countryside.
Pierre is an independent video journalist and documentary filmmaker. In 1999, he began working at The Washington Post’s website where he was hired as the web developer for the Post’s pioneering multimedia section, Camera Works. He became captivated by the nascent video journalism being produced by his colleagues and found his calling. For the next 10 years, Pierre produced award winning new stories for the Post on subjects like national politics and the election of President Barack Obama, environmental racism, his own kidney donation and more. In 2010, he left the Post and began freelancing. He now works with clients like The New York Times, PBS Frontline, NPR, and others. He has worked on a number of independent documentaries in roles like cinematographer, editor, director of photography, producer and director. He enjoys working on projects that peel back the layers of prejudice, racism and ignorance that, to some degree, we all hold within us.