You can’t imagine the agony women go through during child delivery. You may have heard about it or maybe seen it in a movie. But this documentary shows you the real thing.
Yearly, thousands of women lose their lives or that of their child during childbirth, as a result of complications or loss of blood. According to WHO, between 2005 and 2015 alone, over 600,000 maternal deaths and no less than 900,000 maternal near-death cases occurred in Nigeria.
Anchorlight, an American film production company collaborated with a Lagos, Nigeria-based video production company SPS Media Nigeria, to produce a documentary that spotlights Lifebank, a key player in the Nigerian health sector that is helping to reduce incidents of maternal deaths through technology and fast motorcycles. This documentary was commissioned by Google.
The 17- minute documentary follows Joseph, one of the fastest blood delivery riders at Lifebank, as he races against time to deliver blood to a hospital to be used for pregnant expecting moms who desperately need it. As he weaves through hectic Lagos traffic to make the delivery, anything could go wrong. It is a challenging yet exhilarating ride all the way to the labour room.
Ben Elekwachi, a celebrated Nigerian film producer who was a part of the Emmy-award nominated production team for HBO documentary, ‘Our Stolen Daughters,’ led the Nigerian production team for Blood Rider.
The documentary was directed by award-winning American director and filmmaker Jon Kasbe, and Director of Photography, David Bolen.
Due to the pandemic, BLOOD RIDER is virtually premiering at ‘We Are One: A Global Film Festival” (YouTube hosted Cannes, Tribeca, Sundance collaboration)
Blood Rider is available for streaming on YouTube during the festival from June 1 to 7 ONLY. It will not be available after this timeframe.
Watch the film via the link below:
