Art and science: Promoting understanding and empathy through film

Abstract

This article introduces a cross-disciplinary collaboration that has brought together the disciplines of film (art) and midwifery (art and science) in the making of a creative documentary to evaluate new learning opportunities and reflective practice for student midwives. The case study film, The Golden Window, was filmed in a neonatal intensive care unit over 72 hours and screened to a group of second-year midwifery students in the Cambridge Arts Picturehouse, Cambridge, before their placements in neonatal intensive care. The students recorded their thoughts and impressions of the film. Their responses are summarised and reflected upon within this paper, with the underlying intent to examine whether this innovative interaction between art and science can provide an appropriate pedagogic framework for effective learning through creative and artistic means.