Nordic Documentary Competition – Göteborg Film Festival 2020
Surrogacy • Reproductive Rights • Gender • Women's Studies • HealthcareDate of Completion: 2020 | Run Time: 79 minutes | Language: English with English subtitles | Captions: Yes | Includes: Transcript | Director: Sven Blume | Producers: Margarete Jangård | Unavailable to Scandinavian countries
FOR SOMEBODY ELSE follows three women on an emotional and thought-provoking journey as they lend their bodies to carry someone else’s child. They invite us in, sharing their reasons for becoming surrogate mothers, as well as their expectations and experiences before, during and after pregnancies. The story takes place in California, one of the few places in the world where commercial surrogacy is legal and where an increasing number of couples from around the world travel to hire a surrogate mother. With remarkable intimacy and access, the film captures the everyday lives of these women, bound by the strict legal framework of the surrogacy agreement signed with the intended parents. Being a surrogate comes with major challenges: the exhausting routine of tablets, hormone syringes and doctor’s visits, as well as emotional distress and tensions in relationships with loved ones - and, not least, with the recipient families. FOR SOMEBODY ELSE personalizes the political aspects of this system, and gives unique insight into what it means to carry someone else’s child.
Educational Media Reviews Online | Giovanna Colosi, Librarian for the School of Education, Subject Instruction Lead, Syracuse University
Recommended - "The film follows the experiences of three women in California (the only state where surrogacy is legalized at present) in examining their motivations and paths toward surrogate motherhood ... The film allows the viewer to observe the subsequent course of their decision through all its preparation, anxiety, boredom, inconvenience and pain – both physical and emotional - all while managing their own families."
FESTIVALS
Nordic Documentary Competition | Göteborg Film Festival 2020