Made In India- (Documentary) Directed by Rebecca Haimowitz & Vaishali Sinha
USA/India, 2010, 97 Minutes, English and Hindi, New York Premiere
‘Made in India’ shows the physical, moral, and emotional risks that middle-class Westerners and poor Indian women take when they sign a surrogacy contract. Lisa and Brian Switzer of San Antonio are an infertile American couple who have exhausted all other expensive and painful options of getting pregnant. Still, Lisa is determined not to give up on her dream of having children. After considerable soul-searching, the Switzers contact a California-based reproductive outsourcing business. Meanwhile in Mumbai we meet Aalia, the cheerful young mother of three who is contracted to carry the Switzers’ baby for a price. The film’s two directors, American Rebecca Haimowitz and Indian Vaishali Sinha, go beyond sensationalist headlines to explore global issues of reproductive rights and social justice. Weaving together the Switzers’ and Aalia’s stories with interviews involving fertility experts and hospital administrators, they depict decisions made by families in crisis who look toward reproductive technology as a panacea. As might be expected when such divergent cultures converge, there are unforeseen complications.
Winner Grand Jury Award for Best Documentary Feature, Florida Film Festival 2011
Winner Jury Award for Best Documentary Feature Award, San Francisco Intl Asian American Film Festival, 2011
Winner Jury Award for Best Documentary Feature at Magnolia Independent Film Festival, 2011
Rebecca Haimowitz received her Master's degree in Filmmaking from Columbia University’s Graduate School of the Arts, where she also worked as a screenwriting instructor. Vaishali Sinha worked for non-profit organizations in India that promote women’s voices and studied film at the New School University in New York. Originally from Mumbai, she now lives in Brooklyn.
