MADE IN INDIA : DOCUMENTARY ABOUT SURROGATE MOTHERS
Made in India is a feature length documentary film about the human experiences behind the phenomena of "outsourcing" surrogate mothers to India. The film shows the journey of an infertile American couple, an Indian surrogate and the reproductive outsourcing business that brings them together. Weaving together these personal stories within the context of a growing international industry, MADE IN INDIA explores a complicated clash of families in crisis, reproductive technology, and choice from a global perspective.
San Antonio, TX, Lisa and Brian Switzer sell their house and risk their savings on a Medical Tourism company that has promised them an affordable solution after 7 years of infertility. Across the world in Mumbai, India, Aasia Khan puts on a burka - not for religious reasons - but to hide her identity from neighbors as she enters a fertility clinic to be implanted with this American couple’s embryos.
These are the scenes that unfold as we watch East meet West in suburbs and shanty-towns, in test tubes and Petri dishes, in surrogates and infertile couples.
“Reproductive Tourism” has become a booming trade, valued at more than $450 million in India, and it’s growing rapidly. Infertile couples in the U.S. pay up to $100,000 for a domestic surrogacy, but they can pay for the same in India for roughly $25,000 (this includes clinic charges, lawyer’s bills, travel and lodging, and the surrogate’s fee). But this growth is occurring within a complete legal vacuum: currently, there are no actual laws on surrogacy in India - only suggested guidelines. And yet the practice continues to expand without regulation or protection.
MADE IN INDIA is the first feature documentary to show the personal stories of the real people involved — following their journeys throughout the entire surrogacy process. Aasia is a 27-year-old mother of 3 who lives in a one-room house in a slum in Mumbai. She laughs with disbelief when she first heard of surrogacy. “A child without a man?! How can that be? There has to be some kind of a… ‘relationship,’ right?!” Aasia’s decision to become a surrogate - to do so without her husband’s consent even - debunks any simplistic characterization of her as an exploited victim.
Lisa & Brian see themselves as fighters: “In the US, if you’re struggling to have a child, you have to be a lawyer or a doctor to afford this. It’s not fair.” They believe hiring an Indian surrogate is their only chance to have a child of their own, and they are sure that they will help Aasia just as she helps them. But when facing accusations of exploitation, Lisa and Brian must defend their choices. “Walk a mile in my shoes before you judge me,” Lisa commands, staring into the camera.
As Aasia and the Switzers’ stories grow increasingly tied together — the bigger picture behind the globalization of the Reproductive Industry begins to unfold - revealing questions of citizenship, human rights, global corporate practices, choice, reproductive rights, commodification of the body, legal accountability and notions of motherhood.
Throughout the film, scenes of America and India are juxtaposed, charting out the obstacles faced by the US couple, and giving an intimate understanding of the surrogate’s life story and motivations. MADE IN INDIA explores the impact of the decisions of one person over the other. This film reveals the legal and ethical implications behind their choices, and presents the conflict between the personal and the political dilemmas of international surrogacyRebecca Haimowitz & Vaishali Sinha are documentary filmmakers committed to creating work that shows the human stories behind this complex, sometimes controversial subject matter. As an American and an Indian working together, we bring different perspectives to the film, a dynamic that has us both asking harder questions, digging into deeper emotional responses.
As women deeply interested in issues of reproductive rights, social justice and global issues, the subject of “outsourcing” surrogacy to India captivated us from the moment we first read about the practice.
The Directors wanted to create this film to go beyond sensationalist headlines and uncovers the personal lives and choices of the surrogates and the infertile Americans involved.
Vaishali Sinha who is the producer and co Director of this documentary has already co-directed another short documentary, “Red Roses,” exploring the lives of South Asian women who come to the United States via marriage & family obligations, and “Choose Life?” a short narrative about abortion and personal choice. She is also currently co-directing the film “Kashmir”- personal narratives of university students of Kashmir, at the brink of graduation in this extremely contentious and politically troubled State of India. In the past she has worked as researcher and editing associate for filmmaker Richard Wormser at Videoline Productions. She has also worked for non-profit organizations in India promoting women’s voices and has studied film at the New School University in NY. Vaishali uses filmmaking as a platform to explore and discuss socially sensitive issues. She has taken her early education in Mumbai and currently resides in Brooklyn, NY USA.
The documentary is scheduled to be screened in Bali Film Festival in October this year as its Asia Premiere.
The documentary received some outstanding reviews one such review is from Real Screen Magazine. To quote the magazine
“Made in India, which made its world premiere at Toronto’s Hot Docs, was one of a handful of documentaries at the festival to receive an added screening, and for good reason. The doc takes a balanced approach to the sensitive issue of Westerners looking to the Third World for surrogate mother.
San Antonio, TX, Lisa and Brian Switzer sell their house and risk their savings on a Medical Tourism company that has promised them an affordable solution after 7 years of infertility. Across the world in Mumbai, India, Aasia Khan puts on a burka - not for religious reasons - but to hide her identity from neighbors as she enters a fertility clinic to be implanted with this American couple’s embryos.
These are the scenes that unfold as we watch East meet West in suburbs and shanty-towns, in test tubes and Petri dishes, in surrogates and infertile couples.
“Reproductive Tourism” has become a booming trade, valued at more than $450 million in India, and it’s growing rapidly. Infertile couples in the U.S. pay up to $100,000 for a domestic surrogacy, but they can pay for the same in India for roughly $25,000 (this includes clinic charges, lawyer’s bills, travel and lodging, and the surrogate’s fee). But this growth is occurring within a complete legal vacuum: currently, there are no actual laws on surrogacy in India - only suggested guidelines. And yet the practice continues to expand without regulation or protection.
MADE IN INDIA is the first feature documentary to show the personal stories of the real people involved — following their journeys throughout the entire surrogacy process. Aasia is a 27-year-old mother of 3 who lives in a one-room house in a slum in Mumbai. She laughs with disbelief when she first heard of surrogacy. “A child without a man?! How can that be? There has to be some kind of a… ‘relationship,’ right?!” Aasia’s decision to become a surrogate - to do so without her husband’s consent even - debunks any simplistic characterization of her as an exploited victim.
Lisa & Brian see themselves as fighters: “In the US, if you’re struggling to have a child, you have to be a lawyer or a doctor to afford this. It’s not fair.” They believe hiring an Indian surrogate is their only chance to have a child of their own, and they are sure that they will help Aasia just as she helps them. But when facing accusations of exploitation, Lisa and Brian must defend their choices. “Walk a mile in my shoes before you judge me,” Lisa commands, staring into the camera.
As Aasia and the Switzers’ stories grow increasingly tied together — the bigger picture behind the globalization of the Reproductive Industry begins to unfold - revealing questions of citizenship, human rights, global corporate practices, choice, reproductive rights, commodification of the body, legal accountability and notions of motherhood.
Throughout the film, scenes of America and India are juxtaposed, charting out the obstacles faced by the US couple, and giving an intimate understanding of the surrogate’s life story and motivations. MADE IN INDIA explores the impact of the decisions of one person over the other. This film reveals the legal and ethical implications behind their choices, and presents the conflict between the personal and the political dilemmas of international surrogacyRebecca Haimowitz & Vaishali Sinha are documentary filmmakers committed to creating work that shows the human stories behind this complex, sometimes controversial subject matter. As an American and an Indian working together, we bring different perspectives to the film, a dynamic that has us both asking harder questions, digging into deeper emotional responses.
As women deeply interested in issues of reproductive rights, social justice and global issues, the subject of “outsourcing” surrogacy to India captivated us from the moment we first read about the practice.
The Directors wanted to create this film to go beyond sensationalist headlines and uncovers the personal lives and choices of the surrogates and the infertile Americans involved.
Vaishali Sinha who is the producer and co Director of this documentary has already co-directed another short documentary, “Red Roses,” exploring the lives of South Asian women who come to the United States via marriage & family obligations, and “Choose Life?” a short narrative about abortion and personal choice. She is also currently co-directing the film “Kashmir”- personal narratives of university students of Kashmir, at the brink of graduation in this extremely contentious and politically troubled State of India. In the past she has worked as researcher and editing associate for filmmaker Richard Wormser at Videoline Productions. She has also worked for non-profit organizations in India promoting women’s voices and has studied film at the New School University in NY. Vaishali uses filmmaking as a platform to explore and discuss socially sensitive issues. She has taken her early education in Mumbai and currently resides in Brooklyn, NY USA.
The documentary is scheduled to be screened in Bali Film Festival in October this year as its Asia Premiere.
The documentary received some outstanding reviews one such review is from Real Screen Magazine. To quote the magazine
“Made in India, which made its world premiere at Toronto’s Hot Docs, was one of a handful of documentaries at the festival to receive an added screening, and for good reason. The doc takes a balanced approach to the sensitive issue of Westerners looking to the Third World for surrogate mother.
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