First Mothers Film
In this film women who have relinquished their babies in the private adoption system in the U.S. support each other as they share their reasons for placing their child and the repercussions. Together, their experiences form a bigger story disrupting the narrative that adoption is a win-win-win favorable solution for unplanned pregnancies, and revealing an industry that pursues family separation to serve the needs of potential adoptive parents while often profiting the professionals involved. The voices of birthmothers are largely absent in narratives about adoption. This film aims to help change that.
Director’s Statement: We are intentionally centering first/birth mothers at every stage of this project. As “directors,” we see our role as creating the conditions for first/birth mothers to tell their stories, rather than controlling how those stories are told. Our priority is to ensure they are cared for, and that they have agency in every step of this filmmaking process.
Our personal connections to the story include that Margo is a transracial domestic adoptive mother, and Susan is a transracial domestic adoptee and a first mother.
