An Extended Family

© 2014 First Pictures.  All rights reserved.

A story about how ten moms, one dad, eight children and one sperm donor are re-imagining family.

 

Genes make people, but what makes a family? An Extended Family examines the emerging and evolving relationships between seven families who share the same sperm donor. At the same time, this film is a document of Susan's and my personal journey to create our family.

This documentary interweaves the stories of several families who share the same sperm donor.  This donor has agreed that his identity can be released to the donor-conceived children when they turn 18.  

 

The film explores the relationships that have developed between the donor-conceived children and other members of their immediate families, as well as the relationship of the families to each other. These relationships pose some interesting challenges to the traditional conceptions of "family."  

 

The First Pictures production team is working closely with several researchers who explore issues related to donor-assisted families in their work. We also are grateful for the ongoing assistance of The Sperm Bank of California (TSBC).

 

The News page contains current updates about the project.

 

Director of Photography Rico Corona. Additional camera by Stephen Lee. All images © 2014 First Pictures. All rights reserved.