Donor Unknown (2010)

Director:

Jerry Rothwell

Stars:

JoEllen Marsh, Danielle Pagano, Fletcher Norris

2 wins.

Cast

Cast overview:
JoEllen Marsh	...	Herself - Sibling
Danielle Pagano	...	Herself - Sibling
Fletcher Norris	...	Himself - Sibling
Rachelle Longest	...	Herself - Sibling
Ryann McQuilton	...	Himself - Sibling
Roxanne Shaffer	...	Herself - Sibling
Jeffrey Harrison	...	Himself - The Donor
Lucinda Marsh	...	Herself - Parent
Joy Longest	...	Herself - Parent
Sue Norris	...	Herself - Parent
Cathy Fletcher	...	Herself - Parent

Storyline

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Plot Keywords:

sperm bank | search for birth father | biological father | gay parent | venice beach california | 

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Genres:

Documentary

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Details

Official Sites:

Official site

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Release Date:

3 June 2011 (UK)

Also Known As:

Isä numero 150

Company Credits

Production Co:

Met Film Production, Naked Edge Films

Technical Specs

Color:

Color

User Reviews

The family that keeps on growing

What a fascinating story! I feel everyone who appeared in it showed enormous courage.

Two decades ago, a man found that he could afford his rent by donating sperm up to four times a week. He did this for eight years. Today, thanks to a sperm-donor registry, his children are able to find one another and some have reached out to him.

The film spends the most time with Joellen, a strikingly sensitive young woman who acknowledges her genetic father is "very eccentric" but appreciates his gentle kindness. One senses she may be the only one in his brood who will try to have a relationship with a man who seems far more comfortable with animals (including a wounded pigeon he nurtures) than people, and who seems to have no source of income as he subsists in an RV on Venice Beach, CA.

A number of the man's children and their mothers have a great deal to say about having used sperm donation to achieve pregnancy, a practice that used to carry more stigma than it apparently does today.

"I had knit a dream about who he was," says one mother, who apparently was not alone in idealizing a person who clearly embellished the profile he left for would-be moms.

In all, this was extremely compelling viewing!

PS: I consider myself to have a pretty good vocabulary but this is the first time I heard of a "masterbatorium."