How to Have an American Baby Screening

JOIN US for a special event film screening of HOW TO HAVE AN AMERICAN BABY (117 minutes, USA, Mandarin and English w/ English subtitles) followed by a Q&A with the filmmaker.

 

FILMMAKER Q&A LIVE VIA ZOOM: Monday February 5, 2024 at 11:30 am ZOOM LINK

MEETING ID: 832 9071 2080

Moderated by Professor of Creative Nonfiction, Helen Hood Scheer, and Professor of History, Margaret Kuo

WATCH THE FILM ON YOUR OWN FOR FREE (ideally before the filmmaker Q&A!)

 

FILM SYNOPSIS: There is a city in Southern California that is teeming with pregnant women from China. HOW TO HAVE AN AMERICAN BABY is a kaleidoscopic voyage into the booming shadow economy catering to Chinese tourists who travel to Southern California on “birthing vacations”–in order to obtain U.S. citizenship for their babies. Unraveling the underground supply chain from Los Angeles to Beijing, the film weaves together vignettes and multiple storylines. Inside bedrooms, delivery rooms, and family meetings, the story of a hidden global economy emerges—depicting the fortunes and tragedies that befall the ordinary people caught in the web of its influence.

 

The documentary film is artful and has been hailed for its “[e]xtraordinary intimacy” (Wall Street Journal). "It gives a balanced look at issues with which many of us are unfamiliar and allows the audience to form its own opinions” (Forbes) and is “[s]trikingly tender” (The Guardian).

This event is cohosted with the CSULB Department of Asian and Asian American Studies, Department of History, and the Women’s & Gender Equity Center.