From Staceyann Chin - Baby Makes Me film

PLEASE POST ON YOUR BLOGS, SITES, LISTS etc. Help us reach the folks we need.

Many of you have already heard about our film, Baby Makes me. For you, this is an update. But for the folks who have not heard Tiona and I are making a documentary together.

For years, I have wanted to become a mother. But the timing has never been quite right. Either my partners weren’t ready, or I was scared, or I couldn’t find a donor or something. There was always something. By the time I rolled into 35, I was tired of being afraid, tired of waiting for the right woman with whom it would be the right time, tired of watching every Christmas roll over another Birthday, tired of watching my peers get knocked up and months later appear with the most amazing little bundle of potential—I was tired of waiting and ready to make the leap, and I was ready to make it alone.

I began the research with great heart—only to discover that there were little no resources for women who either wanted to, or had to embark on the journey of motherhood in the solo. There were one or two essays and a few books on artificial insemination, and some were even directed at lesbians—but most, if not all assumed that the mother would be operating from inside of a partnership, be that partnership heterosexual or homosexual.

The idea for the film came out of a conversation with Tiona to film the pregnancy/labor, assuming that there would be one—because no one, least of all me, knows if my body will cooperate in doing such a thing as conceiving. I envisioned Tiona asking a couple of heartfelt questions and spinning the light to create a high-end home-movie I could show my child at eighteen. She agreed and we began to flesh out some ideas. That conversation, coupled with the lack of resource material out there spurred the project now known as Baby Makes Me.

Baby Makes Me, a feature-length documentary, will explore the challenges and triumphs of Single Motherhood, particularly in the lives of women of color, lesbians and women who make a conscious choice to be mothers in the absence of intimate/romantic partnerships with men.

The film will use as its narrative skeleton, the journey of activist/writer/performer, Staceyann Chin, as she navigates her personal choices with reference to motherhood. Author of the memoir, The Other Side of Paradise, Chin now brings her talents to the medium of film as writer and Executive Producer.

The Director, Tiona McClodden, is a champion of promoting positive images of women in media. Her last film, “Black./womyn.:conversations…”, garnered much respect in both accolades and awards. She now brings her attention to the issue of women and motherhood.

It is our intent to interview a series of women from all the demographic cross-sections. Issues of financial, ethical, medical, cultural, and political relevance will be fore-grounded. We hope that clinics, hospitals, families, children of Black lesbians, straight Black women who want children, mothers of gay women who lament the loss of grandchildren when they discover their daughters are gay, and anybody who seeks to have a clearer picture of the family that includes gay women will see that our lives go on, that women who are single, be they lesbian, or Black or poor, can and do have babies, and that we are simply another group of people who live and laugh and grow. We hope to paint the subjects in the film as human and likable characters who, though they are dealing with slightly different challenges than the women we traditionally see as mothers, are not very different from any other group of people considering parenthood.

We are going to need all the help we can get. We need help in reaching out to folks who would like to be interviewed; other single mothers, women who have been inseminated, women who are thinking about it, women who work in the medical field, women who work in the administrative world of policy etc. We are on the hunt for the all the voices that could represent our story in the film.

We have recently been awarded a grant from ASTREA Lesbian Foundation for Justice and are set to move forward. We write to you now, in the hope that you will want to be involved in this groundbreaking project in whatever capacity you choose: we need space to host fundraisers and screening and other events connected to the film. We need people to fundraise, to promote the film, to host community talks, to suggest topics for discussion in the film—we need to secure additional investors, we need the help of people who are experts in the business of making films, and we need the counter-perspective of people who have never made a film. We are hoping to make this a community effort; from start to finish we want the ideas to be representative of the various factions in our diverse village of the women who mother our children. If you are sure you are unable to do any of the above, we only ask that you make room for our fliers, questionnaires, invitations, and other promotional materials for the film.

We would be honored if you would join us as we attempt to break more ceilings, level more walls to make room those of us who are too frequently left out of the history and imagination of the world we live in. We look forward to a spirited journey with you, from the opening shot to the ending credits—complete with your name listed among the most stalwart of our supporters.

Thanks again to the women who have already offered assistance. We look forward to your being a part of our process.

Staceyann Chin
Executive Producer/Writer, “Baby Makes Me”
Tiona McClodden
Director/Producer, “Baby Makes Me”

Please send all inquiries and requests to: babymakesme@gmail.com

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Travel: ATL - DC - COL

Over the past weekend I took a wee bit of a road trip. For a total of 81 hours of travel and some 2200 miles I rode through 10 states. I don't want to sit in a car again for that much time for a LONG TIME.

In Atlanta I met several queer ladies. I caught breakfast (at 5am) with someone at a diner in North ATL and I met 2 couples. Person I was with did not believe me when I first pointed them out and said they were lesbian couples. Anyway after breakfast we were paying and one of the ladies calls me over. They then ask me if the person that I was grabbing breakfast with was my girlfriend. Guess we was looking quite chummy and my habit of rubbing her head might have given them that idea. Anyway I tell em no & they apologize for thinking I'm gay & I tell em it's all good cause I am. They then invited us to an event. Would have loved to attend but I had other states to visit during this trip.

Second queer group was a pair of studs that I met while catching dinner in ATL. We gave each other the head nod that's family recognizing family.

Second official stop was DC. Had to see my sis. I love her new place. It was nice to just kick it with her. We did spend a lot of time talking over things and plans for the next year. No sight seeing on this trip. On my way to DC I saw several car accidents and 1 that was a 10 car pile up. They had to close down the interstate for at least 2 hours. The car that started it had no doors and roof. Front was smashed up and I'm fairly certain noone got out of that car alive. The rest of the cars in the pile up had moderate damage and most of the occupants walked out of their own cars.

Third official stop was Columbus, OH. Had to stop by and see the bro. He's looking pretty good and I like his new place too. I also stopped by to see a friend's mom and dad who were in town from Kenya. I try to see them every time that they make it in. Took the bro wit me to see em and they were pleasantly surprised to see him.

I had hoped to stop by and see my new "nephew" Cole on the drive back but I ended up leaving Columbus later than planned.

Tuesday Beat: Mariah Carey - Get Your Number / Imagination - Just an Illusion

Original beat was by Imagination for the song Just an Illusion hence the double play.

Travel: I smell a roadtrip

Ok so maybe i am already on one. I'm down south and should be heading towards the east coast tomorrow. Planning to swing by home state OH on Sunday before heading back to the chi. SO no weekly rundown this week though i'll summarize the trip on monday.

Enjoy your weekend!

Random Post: Nthati Moshesh in The Long Run - A South African Film and Round Trip

South African Actress Nthati Moshesh has potrayed several characters that I am fond of, both straight and queer. I love that she plays characters that you can't help but sympathize with.

In Round Trip she portrays a Ghananian immigrant in Israel who takes up baby sitting in exchange for room and board. She eventually becomes involved with the mother of the kids that she is babysitting. Her back story is a little confusing, as she was dating a French lady while living in Nigeria and has a son with a decidedly South African name. There are a lot of layers in this movie and I highly recommend watching it in its entirety. You can see a highly summarized version of her character's story on YT here. It's a 2 part piece. For a full synopsis of the movie check IMDB.

I saw the movie The Long Run shortly after I arrived in the US and it has remained one of my fav movies from home. I was elated to discover that it was being streamed in its entirety on IMDB so if you would like to see it check it out here. Nthati Moshesh is the lead in it and portrays a Namibian immigrant living in South Africa who encounters Barry, a bloke who sees her potential and wants to train her for the Comrades marathon, a race of note in South Africa. No the bloke is not a perv, and you can't help but feel sorry for him as the story progresses. Anyway time permitting do check it out.

image courtesy of TVSA