How to Have an American Baby
Grasshopper Film has acquired North American digital and non-theatrical rights to How to Have an American Baby, directed by Chinese-American filmmaker Leslie Tai, the company said in a press release. The company will release the film tomorrow, August 19, on digital platforms.
From the press release:
A decade in the making, the film is a haunting and intimate portrait of the shadow economy of Chinese birth tourism in the United States.
With rare access and remarkable empathy, How to Have an American Baby takes viewers inside a hidden network of maternity hotels, expectant mothers, brokers, and medical providers operating at the edges of U.S. immigration and healthcare systems. Told through a mosaic of voices—pregnant Chinese women, sales agents in China, cash-seeking doctors, and wary American neighbors—the observational documentary explores the human cost of a global system that exploits the desire for an American passport.
The film debuted at the True/False Film Festival, with additional screenings at DOC NYC, Cucalorus, SF DocFest, the San Diego Asian Film Festival, and the Wexner Center for the Arts, followed by a limited theatrical release in San Francisco, Los Angeles, and New York. It made its broadcast premiere on Season 36 of PBS’s award-winning series POV. Grasshopper Film will release the film on digital platforms starting August 19.
“As the U.S. moves to dismantle birthright citizenship and tensions with China continue to rise, this story takes on new urgency,” said director Leslie Tai. “Now more than ever, we need stories that insist on the humanity of the Other—especially when that makes us uncomfortable. This film doesn’t offer easy answers. It asks: Who really benefits from these systems? It might not be who you think. We’re thrilled to partner with Grasshopper to bring it to wider audiences.”
“Leslie Tai has crafted a masterful work that tackles a challenging subject with depth, nuance, and humanity,” said Grasshopper’s Ryan Krivoshey. “We are proud to bring this extraordinary debut to audiences across North America.”
The deal was negotiated by Ryan Krivoshey on behalf of Grasshopper Film, with Leslie Tai and Isaac Hager.
Tai spoke to Filmmaker‘s Lauren Wissot, where Tai addressed the legality and the motives of the Chinese women entering the U.S. to have their babies, who then, because of the 14th Amendment, are born as American citizens. In the interview, said Tai, ” Of the women and Chinese industry I came into contact with, there wasn’t necessarily this perception that they were doing something wrong or had anything to hide. As far as many were concerned, they were pumping cash into the local U.S. economy. It was hard for them to imagine why that would not be a welcome thing.”
