Milk

What should one do with a body that is ready and able to feed, but has no one to nourish? Even in the best of times, patriarchal culture presents numerous challenges to breastfeeding women. In Stefanie Kolk's debut feature film, we encounter Robin (played by Frieda Barnhard) at a tragic moment—her child has died. After leaving the hospital, Robin finds herself surrounded by a pervasive silence, as her partner (Alexei Ovsiannikov) and others around her struggle to discuss the loss. She finds more solace in the quiet support she seeks during her solitary forest walks. However, the central theme of the film, penned by Kolk and co-writer Nena van Driel, focuses on Robin's body, which remains oblivious to the death, continuing to produce milk in defiance of her reality marked by profound loss and silence. The film is a study in quiet and minimalism, where the most jarring sound is the mechanical noise of a breast pump. Unable to become a milk donor through official channels, Robin searches for alternative ways to donate her milk, highlighting her struggle to reconcile her body's natural response with the emotional turmoil of her bereavement.