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Wolobougou

“It’s just a quest for dignity. No more than that... If wanting social justice between the sexes is being a feminist, I’m a feminist and I own it.” —Honorine Soma

For Honorine Soma, maternal health is about much more than pre-natal care. A trained midwife, Soma is the founder and director of Wolobougou, a clinic in the village of Farakoba, Burkina Faso. The name means “place of compassionate birth” — and the staff at the clinic embody that mission. Soma and her team provide a space for women to give birth in addition to ensuring women receive essential medical care and a healthy dose of empowerment, in a patriarchal society where female genital mutilation remains common.

Director Camille Varenne, who splits her time between Burkina Faso and France, spent “a long period of shared time” with the clinic team, resulting in a carefully observed, beautiful and intimate documentary. Both a portrait of one woman and an understated chronicle of resistance, WOLOBOUGOU was made in collaboration with the midwives, whose participation in the writing and editing process informed the final result.

Soma is a captivating and powerful presence. We join her and her team as they bring care directly to villages, offering women free breast and cervical cancer screenings, along with AIDS tests and contraceptive implants — provided in secret, if their husbands don’t approve. Whether she is carefully guiding a pregnant woman through labor, pushing her own team to overcome their fears, or sharing her own experience with intimate partner violence, Soma’s commitment to supporting women is unwavering.

“Thank you auntie,” one young woman says, moments after giving birth at Wolobougou. It’s a sentiment any number of women in the film might have shared.

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