Oscar-nominated director Amanda Micheli’s provocative documentary, Vegas Baby followed several aspiring parents, who desperately wanted to have a baby but were struggling with infertility as well as the high cost of treatments, through a contest that offered a prize of a free round of in-vitro fertilization—with no guarantee of success. Contestants posted their video entries on YouTube, counting on the votes of strangers to make their dreams of parenthood come true and in the process exposed their private pain, online.
Micheli’s VEGAS BABY, which recently debuted in numerous cities across the United States and Europe, was shown at the Tribeca Film Festival, and aired on PBS provides can now also be accessed through Netflix and I-Tunes. The film navigates the complexities of America’s burgeoning fertility industry and unveils the class disparity within a topic that is often clouded by judgment and stereotypes. In the process, it seeks to explore universal themes of desire and loss through an intimate portrait of the diverse individuals – from a devoutly Catholic Latino couple in Texas to a lesbian Lady Gaga Impersonator in New York – who were determined to have a baby against all odds.
Ultimately one contestant couple won a free cycle and received free IVF and had a baby. But moved by the heart-rendering plights of those who did not win, Sher Fertility subsequently provided a few additional contestants (who did not win a free cycle) with free IVF services. Several also went on to have babies.
The following Link will take you to a recent Night Line commentary on “VEGAS BABY.”
http://abc.go.com/shows/nightline/episode-guide/2017-07/06-070617-Couples-Incredible-Infertility-Struggle-That-Led-to-Their-Vegas-Baby