|
THE CUTTING TRADITION
by Nancy Durrell McKenna & John Howarth
Best Direction
2010 PHILADELPHIA DOCUMENTARY & FICTION FESTIVAL
Director: Nancy Durrell McKenna & John Howarth
Producer: Nancy Durrell McKenna
Writer: John Howarth
Genre: Documentary
Country: United Kington
Duration: 47 minutes
Original Format: PAL DVD
Photography: John Howarth
Art Direction: John Howarth
Editing: John Howarth
Synopsis of the Film: The Cutting Tradition: Insights into female genital mutilation, narrated by Meryl Streep 2009
It is estimated that up to 140 million women and girls have undergone some form of female genital mutilation (FGM). FGM should not be viewed as an isolated practice. Its justification is that it is an important initiation which reinforces virginity, chastity, purity, marriageability and fidelity.
The Cutting Tradition: Insights into female genital mutilation, narrated by Meryl Streep, was filmed in five countries: Burkina Faso, Djibouti, Egypt, Ethiopia and the UK, and highlights the complex social, religious, cultural and economic issues which underpin the ongoing practice of FGM.
The 47 minute documentary was produced by Nancy Durrell McKenna, Founder Director, of SafeHands for Mothers for the International Federation of Gynecology and Obstetrics (FIGO) and launched at its World Congress in Cape Town in October 2009
Bio-filmography of the Director: Nancy Durrell McKenna is an award-winning photographer, film-maker and author who specializes in work around pregnancy and birth in the UK and in developing countries.
In 2003, she achieved a long-held ambition and founded the UK registered charity, SafeHands for Mothers, which is dedicated to reducing maternal and infant mortality globally and of which she is Founder Director.
She has contributed to numerous photographic exhibitions and worked with leading authors on books about pregnancy, birth, child development and women's sexuality.
The film 'Birth: Eight Women's Stories', which she filmed and directed, won a Gold Award at the International New York Film and Television Festival in 1993.
She was awarded The Royal Photographic Society's Combined Royal Colleges Medal in October 2007.
Ms Durrell McKenna said "Having worked on the themes of women's sexuality, birth and reproductive health through photography for the past twenty-five years, it is a great honour to have this work recognised by the Royal Colleges.
"It is the power of the image to 'tell a story' and advocate for change that is the driving force behind the photographs I take. One woman dies every minute, somewhere in the world, due to the complications of pregnancy and childbirth. This is a tragedy and one that is preventable.
"If my photographs highlight the need to invest more in women's health - especially in developing countries - then I am using my creativity to the best of my ability."
In 2008 she produced a film on Child Marriage, An insight to early marriage in Ethiopia; this was preselected at the New York Short Film Festival 2009.
Nancy latest film on Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) titled The Cutting Tradition, Insights into female genital mutilation, was commissioned by the International Federation of Obstetrics and Gynaecology (FIGO) and launched at their World Conference in October 2009 |
Annual Program Without Frontiers - The Cutting Tradition
