DONOR UNKNOWN
ABOUT
Donor Unknown follows the story of JoEllen Marsh as she goes in search of the sperm donor father she only knows as Donor 150. After tracking down a series of half-siblings spread across the US, she hears from Jeffrey Harrison, living in a broken-down RV with four dogs and a pigeon in a Venice Beach car park. In the 1980s, Jeffrey supplemented his meagre income by becoming a sperm donor at California Cryobank. His number was Donor 150. Funny, moving and surprising, Donor Unknown is a uniquely 21st century story which raises intriguing questions about identity, family, fatherhood - and the strange power of genetic connections.
Jerry Rothwell is a filmmaker whose work includes the award-winning feature documentaries: The Reason I Jump, based on the bestselling book by Naoki Higashida; How To Change The World, about the founders of Greenpeace; Sour Grapes (co-directed with Reuben Atlas) a film about a wine counterfeiter Town of Runners, about two girls in an Ethiopian village who aspire to be athletes; Donor Unknown, about a sperm donor and his many offspring; School In The Cloud, about radical educationalist, Sugata Mitra; Heavy Load, about a group of people with learning disabilities who form a punk band, and Deep Water (co-directed with Louise Osmond), about Donald Crowhurst’s ill-fated voyage in the 1968 round the world yacht race. His work has won numerous accolades including two Grierson Awards, a Sundance Special Jury Prize and Audience Award, an RTS Award, the IDA Pare Lorentz Award and two BAFTA nominations.
CREDITS
Hilary Durman
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