Postpartum

5 MINUTES

‘Suddenly you are here’ – a breathless, hilarious ode to new motherhood

Warning: this film features rapidly flashing images that can be distressing to photosensitive viewers.

The German filmmaker Henriette Rietz imagined that her parental leave would be ‘a sort of sabbatical’. The short film Postpartum is her attempt to make sense of the far more complicated, overwhelming reality that actually unfolded after she gave birth. Channelling the mood swings, sleeplessness and flow of fluids that characterised her experience, Rietz’s award-winning animation makes for an unflinching account of new motherhood.

Beyond surely providing the filmmaker, and likely some viewers, with a good deal of catharsis, the piece is also a superb showcase for Rietz’s talents. As the piece unfolds in a series of vignettes, droll asides, clever sight gags and unforgettable images – including that of zucchinis growing on Rietz in place of breasts – unfurl in a flurry. There is, of course, nothing new about motherhood. Still, Rietz’s take on the agonies, ecstasies and everything in between manages to feel fresh.

Director: Henriette Rietz

Explore more

Illustration of a room with a plant on a table, soft coloured walls and a window with curtains.
POETRY

‘You are me; I am you’ – a trans poet’s evocative message to her former self

Video by On Being

Three adults with babies seated in a waiting room, smiling and interacting, with colourful posters on the wall.

We’re learning just how early in life empathy starts to move us

What contagious crying, comforting hugs and other cute behaviour in infants tells us about the roots of emotional connection

by Zanna Clay & Carlo Vreden

Two people lying on a snowy road in winter clothing with a forested landscape in the background.
GRIEF

Frøydis faces an impossible problem – how to grieve a father she hated and loved

Directed by Frøydis Fossli Moe

Three people chatting at a rustic bar in a pub, with a brick interior and various decorations.

Our relationships, in five dimensions

Scientists offer a new way to compare and contrast social ties – like a ‘Big Five’ for relationships

by Matt Huston

Photo of a red-eyed tree frog with vivid green, blue and orange colouring, perched on a branch in a lush forest setting.

Dangerous things

Like the red-eyed tree frog tadpoles, my son and I fell into a new beginning

by Heather Swan

Photo of a person carrying a child with blue star shorts on their back, walking on a path lined with green plants.

A sister who wasn’t ours

We were her foster family for two and a half years. We had no claim to her, but she became part of us

by Kelsey Day

A group of people outdoors looking serious, with one woman wiping her eyes in the centre. Trees and buildings in background.

The hidden calculations that determine whether you will cry

We think of tears as an overflow of emotion, but an evolutionary lens shows they’re a rational form of social signalling

by Daniel Sznycer & Debra Lieberman

A man with a beard sitting on a sofa with two young children, one resting on his head, in a room with bookshelves.

Being a dad has made my brain younger

As the father of twins, I could hardly feel more frazzled. But my brain age might paint a different, more youthful, picture

by Christian Jarrett