Founder

Diana Paul is the Founder of Motherbaby International Film Festival and the Executive Director of Sage Femme.

The Spanish term for giving birth is dar la luz – literally, to give light. That is what happened to me. Someone turned on the light and I was high for years. Here, at the birth of my first child was a truth so profound, an ecstasy so great, a light so bright that I was reluctant to talk about it for many years.

Then I witnessed the sadness and depression of friends who did not enjoy such a birth and instead experienced fear, interventions and heartache. They didn’t want to talk about their births either, but for the opposite reason.

Birth – the greatest rite of passage in a woman’s life – It’s time to talk about it. What has happened to the light, the sacred journey from maidenhood to motherhood? What nourishes a Mother, her Baby, the family and our planet?

Diana’s Background

Diana’s move to Massachusetts proved a turning point for her and the start of Sage Femme, Inc. The laws in that state allowed her deep desire to manifest of helping mothers and babies as a lay midwife. She attended only home births. When some women wanted the birth videotaped, Diana took her small Sony 900 camera. It was unobtrusive and she was able to capture rare and beautiful images.

She also worked with a professional videographer interviewing midwives at conferences. In Austin, Texas, Diana met a very pregnant Naoli Vinaver Lopez, offered her a camera to tape Tamaya’s birth and that was the beginning of Birth Day. Today Birth Day has been seen by tens of thousands of viewers. It was in 6 major film festivals in the US as well as Havana, Rio de Janeiro, and Sao Paulo. Birth Day was added to Boston’s Museum of Science reproduction exhibit and marked the beginning of Sage Femme, Inc.

In 2004 Sage Femme moved its headquarters to California and changed from the business world to the nonprofit.

Interview – Washington DC Mall - September 24, 2003
“Ms. Paul, what do you think of a woman’s right to choose where and with whom she gives birth?”

Turns out, Diana had one or two thoughts on the subject.