
Women of the World, Global Voices
Casablanca Calling
Morocco’s first female religious leaders set out to change their country in a quiet social revolution.
A far-flung group of siblings are in search of each other and their father, known only as Donor 150.
Jerry Rothwell is a documentary filmmaker whose work includes the award-winning feature docs, Heavy Load, about a group of people with learning disabilities who form a punk band, Donor Unknown about a sperm donor and his many offspring and Deep Water, co-directed with Louise Osmond, about Donald Crowhurst’s ill-fated voyage in the 1968 round the world… Show more
Al Morrow is an award-winning producer and Head of Documentary at Met Film Production. She produced the feature documentary Deep Water (Pathe, UKFC, FilmFour), winner of the Grierson award for Best Cinema Documentary 2007; and Jerry Rothwell's Heavy Load (IFCtv, ITV, BBC), which won the Audience Award at the Britdoc Festival in 2008 and the inaugural CDN… Show more
Hilary Durman is director of Redbird, an independent production company set up in 1992. She has produced documentaries, dramas, and features for BBC, Channel 4, and ITV, winning 3 BAFTAs, and awards from the Royal Television Society, One World Media, Prix Jeunesse, and the Japan Prize. In addition to Casablanca Calling and Pirates of Salé, she produced Special,… Show more
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JoEllen, now 20, has always known her family "wasn't like other families." She grew up in Pennsylvania with two mothers, and a burning curiosity to know more about her anonymous donor father. When JoEllen discovers a unique online registry that connects donor‐conceived children, she manages to track down a half‐sister in New York. The New York Times picks up the story, and, over time 12 more half‐siblings emerge across the United States.
By chance, the article also falls into the hands of Jeffrey Harrison, living alone with four dogs and a pigeon in a broken‐down RV in a Venice Beach parking lot. In the 1980s, Jeffrey had supplemented his meager income by donating sperm for cash at California cryobank. His donor number was 150.
Donor Unknown is a uniquely 21st century story. The connections made between the children and their donor dad draw as much on modern technology as on old‐fashioned coincidence. While the siblings seem to take their ever-expanding family in stride, Jeffrey is more apprehensive about meeting some of his biological children for the first time. Donor Unknown raises intriguing questions about our understanding of parenthood, and the strange power of our genetic connections.
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