Helena Solberg Cineclub presents INCOMPATIBLE WITH LIFE

The documentary INCOMPATIBLE WITH LIFE, to be screened this April at the Helena Solberg Cineclub, brings a heart-wrenching portrait of maternity and pregnancy, where grief and pain are the starting point for a mature reflection on reproductive rights in Brazil.

INCOMPATIBLE WITH LIFE | INCOMPATÍVEL COM A VIDA
Dir. Eliza Capai | 2023 | Brazil | 93 min. | Portuguese with English subtitles

From her personal experience of pregnancy with a diagnosis of fetal malformation incompatible with life, the director Eliza Capai sheds light on women who have gone through similar situations in Brazil, where abortion can lead to prison. Her process of terminating an unviable pregnancy intertwines with visceral conversations with these other women, creating a choir of voices reflecting on motherhood and prenatal grief through poetic lenses.

Exposing one’s pain in front of the camera is nothing new, but Capai makes a courageous and generous move, reinvigorating the “genre” of first-person documentary, usually made in very traditional ways. The film is introduced as an intimate investigation into pregnancy and painful journeys, gradually opening up the scope and revealing a political and urgent discussion blurred with moralism.

INCOMPATIBLE WITH LIFE won the prizes of Best Film and Best Editing at It’s All True Film Festival, the most important documentary festival in Brazil, and Best Direction at FICViña (Chile).