The Hollywood Reporter — Aftershock’s greatest achievement is its refusal to peddle in hopelessness. Solutions do exist... The film ends with a powerful reminder that if Black lives matter then Black wombs must matter, too.
IndieWire — Aftershock is a powerful project... Through a combination of poignant home videos and present-day tributes, the film celebrates these women, allowing us to see them as more than statistics.
Variety — Aftershock, from directors Paula Eiselt and Tonya Lewis Lee, tells the story of two young black women who died due to childbirth complications that could have been prevented.
Associated Press — Though neither knew each other at the time, Paula Eiselt and Tonya Lewis Lee both came to the same conclusion: This story needed to be told.
Variety — Directors Tonya Lewis Lee and Paula Eiselt deliver a vital and moving documentary that shows the lives behind shameful statistics.
RogerEbert.com — Aftershock, directed by Paula Eiselt and Tonya Lewis Lee, is an eye-opening and alarming documentary about a health issue for Black women in America
Los Angeles Times — One of the pleasures of this year’s festival is a vivid sense that representation is becoming ever more specific and multifaceted: You could see it in a documentary like Aftershock, Paula Eiselt and Tonya Lewis Lee’s damning look at how systemic medical racism has led to devastating rates of maternal death and morbidity among Black women.
The Hollywood Reporter — Paula Eiselt and Tonya Lewis Lee’s revelatory documentary delves into the crisis of Black maternal mortality in the United States.
Black Film and TV — Making its World Premiere at the 2022 Sundance Film Festival and playing in the U.S. Documentary Competition is Aftershock by producers and directors Tonya Lewis Lee and Paula Eiselt.
Women and Hollywood — Tonya Lewis Lee is a director, producer, and writer whose work through storytelling often explores the personal impact of social justice issues such as civil rights and criminal justice. Paula Eiselt directs and produces feature films about unforgettable characters thriving in unbelievable circumstances. Her passion for verité storytelling about fearless trailblazers fighting for change resulted in the award-winning film 93Queen.
No Film School — Paula Eiselt had embedded with her camera in a Hasidic all-woman EMT unit. Tonya Lewis Lee was showrunner on the She’s Gotta Have It update. And when they met, their strengths multiplied.
EBONY — Directors Paula Eiselt and Tonya Lewis Lee brilliantly place a spotlight on an often overlooked medical issue that disproportionately affects Black women.
Filmmaker Magazine — The last two years have prompted much contemplation and reconsideration of the reasons why we make our films as well as the ways in which we make them.
Black Girl Nerds — Aftershock is one of those films that comes at you hard with the best intentions. It succeeds in revealing what’s wrong and highlighting what you can do about it. It shakes and moves you, which is the mark of a great documentary.
The Wrap — The Sundance documentary Aftershock zeroes in on an issue that until recently had gotten little attention — disparities in America’s maternal health care system.
Deadline — American women in general, and African American women in particular, are losing their lives in or shortly after child birth in alarmingly high numbers, much higher than in other industrialized nations.
Essence — Despite a shift in plans, projects premiering at this year's Sundance Film Festival will reflect the ever-changing world that we know around us.
