Melbourne documentary producer Anna Kaplan has launched a grassroots campaign to build community support for breastfeeding mothers with a film on the same subject.
The campaign, called Bosom Buddies, is inspired by Kaplan’s own experiences breastfeeding her son.
The short doco Lactaboobiephobia, directed by Britt Arthur and produced by Kaplan, explores the stigma associated with breastfeeding in public spaces and the impact it has on new mothers.
When making the film Kaplan appealed to women to share their experiences of and was inundated with stories of fear and stigma.
“With the constant stories of breastfeeding women being shamed or told to cover up, it’s not surprising that so many mothers hide away in cramped toilet cubicles, smelly nappy change rooms or stuffy parked cars when they need to feed,” said Kaplan.
“It’s really sad that the negative stories often get amplified, because the majority of people actually have no issues with breastfeeding. Bosom Buddies provides a platform to have a more positive conversation about how the wider community can be more vocal in their support for breastfeeding mothers and their babies.”
Kaplan is known for work as an impact producer for Madman, working on documentaries such as The Hunting Ground and Damon Gameau's That Sugar Film
Speaking to IF earlier this year, Kaplan described her job as an impact producer as all about taking a film beyond its traditional release and into the broader community, often working with outreach partners who are already active in the space explored by the film.
“Distributors are starting to see that their audience is fragmenting and they need to be reaching them in different ways”, she said.
The Bosom Buddies campaign is supported by the Australian Breastfeeding Association and lactation consultants, Meg Nagle and Pinky McKay.
http://bosombuddiescampaign.com/