Cankles are part of the lighter side of pregnancy (woes). Mums love to laugh at the downside of being pregnant and Amnesty International has captured the attention of mums by hosting one of their favourite conversations in its new film, 25 Annoying Things About Being Pregnant.
Up until the halfway point. Then the tone of the film changes dramatically.
Because while the film is, without question, harnessing the camaraderie of women, it’s not just for s***s and giggles.
The film supports a push to repeal the Eighth Amendment to Ireland’s constitution. The 1983 amendment makes abortion illegal in all cases except where the mother’s life is in immediate danger. Rape, incest and any number of potentially serious health risks don’t qualify as mitigating factors. Every year, about 4,000 Irish women travel to other countries for abortion services.
Amnesty has launched the campaign in advance of a referendum about the Eight Amendment scheduled for next year. The film’s director, Kathryn Ferguson, also directed Home Truths for Selfridges that explores the meaning of diversity and Underarms for Dove, that required an empathy for women’s needs. She has also been researching and shooting her own documentary about women’s reproductive rights in Ireland and Northern Ireland for the past two years.
The video gained more than half a million views in its first five days.
“It [the Eight Amendment] is often seen as only restricting women’s and girl’s access to abortion, however, it is much more insidious than that,” stated Colm O’Gorman, executive director of Amnesty Ireland.
“Thousands of women every year are affected by it in ways they do not anticipate or know about before it happens. We wanted to shine a light on the fact that the Eighth Amendment can have a serious and detrimental impact on all pregnant women’s and girls’ basic right to health.”
Credits:
Creative Director, Art Director: Stephen Rogers
Creative Director, Copywriter: Shane O’Brien
Producer & Account Management: Jessica Derby
Strategist & Account Management: Fay Quilligan
Copywriter: Bernie Martin
Connection Strategist: Emer FitzGerald
Junior Producer: Karina Cotter
Location donated by Sorcha McCabe
Production Company: Antidote
Director: Kathryn Ferguson
DOP: Eoin McLoughlin
Executive Producer: Andrew Freedman
Production coordinator: Paula Stewart
Researchers: Brian Raftery & Tessa Delehanty
Post Production: Screen Scene Post Production
Producer: Sinead Bagnall
Editor: Jaungus Dinsmore
Sound: Tim O’Donovan @ Raygun Post Production
Music: Steve Lynch & Stellar Sound
Client: Amnesty International
Executive Director: Colm O’Gorman
Communications Manager: Clare Herbert
Communications Officer: Siobhan O’Mara
Campaigns Officer: Sorcha Tunney
