Impossible Journey is a film based on a true story, and each of the 3200 film frames is painted by hand, requiring nearly 40 artists, and 1500 hours of painting time.

Each frame is meticulously crafted, with the backgrounds and environments rendered by the artists in vivid, brushstroke-laden detail.

The purpose of this film was about enacting real change. Our reliance on hand-painting was intentional, to take the film out of the digital space and into the real world. The issue becomes more real and tangible with each frame filled with the intentions of the artist who painted it.

• In the US Black women are 3X more likely to die from pregnancy-related issues.

• 85% of those pregnancy related deaths could be preventable.

• Black women face systemic discrimination in healthcare settings, including unequal access to appropriate healthcare, providers dismissing their concerns, lower-quality care, and biased treatment from healthcare providers.

The disparities in Black maternal health outcomes in the US can be attributed directly to racism. From historically experiencing a discriminatory system that deliberately prevents access to healthcare services, to direct racial biases exhibited by health workers toward Black women, the incidence of racism in medicine is well documented.

The Momnibus (Black Maternal Health) act has one final hurdle to becoming law. The US Senate can impact this crisis by signing into law the Black Maternal Health Momnibus Act, which could potentially save the lives of Black mothers and babies. But tragically, it has sat without a vote for years.

Racial disparities in maternal health care represent a major inequality that needs to be addressed by promoting justice and addressing systemic biases and discrimination in institutions like healthcare.

In the US, Black women are 3X more likely to die from a pregnancy-related causes than White women. The pregnancy journey of Black women has been marked by persistent challenges and systemic barriers, creating a nearly impossible journey for Black mothers seeking safe and equitable childbirth experiences. Aster, a maternal health company, teamed up with Ashé Birthing Services. They have joined forces to expand community-based maternal health programs and increase funding for pregnancy and doula programs. By promoting the Momnibus Act through the Impossible Journey film they can drive Congress to the changes necessary that could improve Black maternal health outcomes and potentially save lives.

The characters were created by a team of 40 women artists, predominantly Black mothers. Each one brought a unique detail to the final version of our characters.

The film was created with 3200 hand-painted frames. Each frame was carefully sketched, vectorized, digitally-painted, printed out, and then, using acrylics and chalk, meticulously painted by hand. The hand-painting took over 1,500 hours.

The purpose of this film was about enacting real change. And our reliance on hand-painting was intentional, to take the film out of the digital space and into the real world in doing so, we make the issue more real and tangible, and each frame becomes filled with the intentions of the artist who painted it.