A Walk to Beautiful is now showing at Quad Cinema, 34 W. 13 St. www.quadcinema.com
"Even death would be better than this. This is not life," says 25 year old Ayehu. She lives in a ragged lean-to behind her mother’s house, thrown out by her husband after a weeklong labor left her with a stillborn child and an opening between the bladder and birth canal that makes her incontinent. Shunned by neighbors, unable to work or even live indoors because of her condition, Ayehu is one of thousands of women in rural Ethiopia who suffer from obstetric fistula. It’s a tragically common consequence of obstructed childbirth in developing countries, where doctors are scarce and obstetric care is practically nonexistent. Girls are undernourished and overworked, married off before puberty. Pregnant as young as 12 or 13, their bodies are unable to handle the trauma of childbirth. The title of this compassionate documentary refers to the journey Ayehu and many young women make on foot and by bus from their remote villages to the Addis Ababa Fistula Hospital to have corrective surgery. Australian husband and wife doctors Reginald and Catherine Hamlin opened the hospital in 1974 to treat fistula patients free of charge. Now widowed and elderly, the remarkable Dr. Catherine Hamlin continues to oversee the work of the hospital’s dedicated staff. The film follows five women from the despair of their conditions to hope and confidence as they undergo treatment and take control of their lives. It is a moving and inspiring tale.
—Margarita Landazuri
World Premiere. In Amharic with English subtitles. This film is competing for a Golden Gate Award. Presented in association with the United Nations Association Film Festival.
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