Aftershock (86 minutes) gives a face to the harrowing statistics of the Black maternal mortality rate in the U.S., telling the story of the preventable postpartum deaths of two NYC mothers. The documentary etches these losses into its audience, steadily tracing how the premature absence of these mothers is lived by fathers, children, grandparents, siblings, families, communities. At the same time, the film documents the growing activism in Black and brown communities around the Black maternal health crisis. “This is a film everyone must see,” says Kabrina Stephens, a Peer Leader for the MCNY Black Maternal Health Initiative (BMHI).
