Donor Unknown (2010)Director:Jerry Rothwell |
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Donor Unknown (2010)Director:Jerry Rothwell |
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JoEllen Marsh | ... |
Herself - Sibling
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Danielle Pagano | ... |
Herself - Sibling
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Fletcher Norris | ... |
Himself - Sibling
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Rachelle Longest | ... |
Herself - Sibling
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Ryann McQuilton | ... |
Himself - Sibling
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Roxanne Shaffer | ... |
Herself - Sibling
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Jeffrey Harrison | ... |
Himself - The Donor
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Lucinda Marsh | ... |
Herself - Parent
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Joy Longest | ... |
Herself - Parent
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Sue Norris | ... |
Herself - Parent
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Cathy Fletcher | ... |
Herself - Parent
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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."