Educational Media Reviews Online

Director Micheli’s documentary delves into the intimate, and oft heartbreaking, journey that aspiring parents experience when they are faced with infertility. This film centers on a Las Vegas-based fertility doctor’s social media contest that entails winning an expensive In Vitro Fertization (IVF) treatment. Micheli follows several people who apply to the contest as one of their final attempts to conceive a child. While there is one winning couple, the film also follows lives of several other people who pursue IVF in spite of not winning the contest. This film documents their anticipation, disappointment, anger, and joy throughout their respective IVF treatments. It is difficult to watch this film without feeling deep sympathy; this is especially true on occasions where the women and men are faced with a miscarriage after pouring their emotions and livelihoods into their IVF treatment.

This documentary exposes viewers to the side of infertility that is not often publicly shared. Micheli's framing of the topic around the Vegas-based contest is more of a gimmick than as essential aspect of the film. While the contest introduces the subjects of the film and injects some light-heartedness into a rather poignant topic, the focus on the contest fizzles after the winning family is selected. This film's subject matter is unique and compelling on a human-interest level; however, it is aimed at general audiences, which may hinder it's usefulness in academic contexts. There are several interesting complexities hinted at throughout the documentary, such as moral and ethical issues dealing both with the nature of the contest and the IVF procedure. While the documentary avoids delving into these tangents, they could lead to interesting discussions after viewing the film.

The film excels in technical quality, as the sound and the production of the film are excellent. Micheli also has stricken a good balance between the subjects in the film, and manages to conclude it on a hopeful note. Overall, there are few documentaries that examine infertility and IVF on such a personal level, which make this film a worthy addition to library collections.

Awards:

• Best Documentary, Boston Independent Film Festival, 2016
• Best Documentary Feature, Independent Film Festival of Boston, 2016