NOW STREAMING on PBS Passport
How to Have an American Baby is a kaleidoscopic voyage into the booming shadow economy catering to Chinese tourists who travel to the U.S. to give birth in order to obtain American citizenship for their babies, told through a network of interconnected storylines and situations.
Press
“A deeply embedded look... that only grows more complicated as it continues”
- Screen Slate
“Tai’s touch is sensitive,
but she’s matter-of-fact.”
- Bright Wall/Dark Room
“Tai creates a palpably deep intimacy”
- Vox Magazine
“It gives a balanced look at issues with which many of us are unfamiliar and allows the audience to form its own opinions.”
- Forbes
About the Film
Tracing the underground birth tourism industry from Beijing to Los Angeles, HOW TO HAVE AN AMERICAN BABY is a feature-length creative documentary that takes us behind the closed doors of the booming shadow economy catering to Chinese tourists who travel to the U.S. to give birth—in order to obtain U.S. citizenship for their babies.
Told through a series of intimately observed, interwoven storylines, we meet expectant mothers, maternity hotel operators and operator wannabes, local doctors and civic officials, birth tourism agents in China, and the nannies, cooks, and chauffeurs that fuel this industry. Inside bedrooms, delivery rooms, and private family meetings, the story of a hidden global economy emerges – depicting the aspirations and anxieties, fortunes and tragedies that befall the ordinary people caught in the web of its influence.
February 5, 2024
Cal State Long Beach
Long Beach, CA
Coming Soon
Upcoming Screenings
Past Screenings
Meet the Team
Leslie Tai
Director, Producer, Cinematographer, Editor
Leslie Tai is a Chinese-American filmmaker from San Francisco, CA. Her shorts have premiered at Tribeca Film Festival, MoMA’s Doc Fortnight, IDFA, and Visions du Réel. From 2006-2011, Tai studied under Wu Wenguang, a founding figure of the New Independent Chinese Documentary Movement, at his Beijing-based studio Caochangdi Workstation. Her short film THE PRIVATE LIFE OF FENFEN (2013), a multi-layered representation of a Chinese migrant worker’s video diaries, won Best Film Awards at Kasseler Dokfest and Images Festival. In 2013, Tai was the first shorts filmmaker to receive the Emerging Filmmaker Award from San Diego Asian Film Festival for GRAVE GOODS (2013), about the sublime objects of her deceased grandmother, and SUPERIOR LIFE CLASSROOM (2012), about the Taiwanese immigrant housewives of Silicon Valley who sell Amway products. Her recent short, MY AMERICAN SURROGATE (2019), about Chinese elite hiring American surrogates to carry their babies for them, was commissioned by The New York Times Op-Docs series and Pulitzer Center. HOW TO HAVE AN AMERICAN BABY is Tai’s feature debut.
Jillian Schultz
Producer
Jillian Schultz is a producer, cultural organizer, and creative consultant with twenty years of experience using art as a catalyst for cultural exchange between the U.S. and China. She has expertise in lens-based media, artist development, exhibitions, and educational programming. She is the co-principal of Two Tigers Productions in East Hollywood, CA. She co-produced the 2019 New York Times Op-Doc MY AMERICAN SURROGATE, directed by Leslie Tai. She is producing Tai's feature documentary debut, HOW TO HAVE AN AMERICAN BABY (True/False 2023) and YOU SHOULD NEVER BLINK, a forthcoming feature documentary on the "Pop Art Nun" Corita Kent, directed by Leah Thompson and supported by the NEH. She has curated exhibitions and produced public programs around the world and continues to collaborate with artists in China, Taiwan, and Hong Kong. Jillian is fluent in Mandarin and holds a B.A. in Art History and Asian Studies from Tulane University and an M.A. in East Asian Languages & Cultures from Columbia University.
Elivia Shaw
Co-producer, Co-editor
Elivia Shaw is an award-winning producer and filmmaker based in Berkeley, CA. Her short films have won awards at major festivals including the Grand Jury Prize at AFI Fest and have been featured on the Atlantic, Vimeo Staff Picks and PBS. Elivia honed her producing skills on award-winning television series and documentaries for PBS, National Geographic and Al Jazeera. She is a Co-Producer on USERS, directed by Natalia Almada, and winner of the Directing Award at Sundance 2021. She holds an MFA in Documentary Film from Stanford University where she teaches film production. Her latest project has received support from ITVS, the NEH and SFFILM.
Leila Lin
Co-producer
Leila Lin is a PhD student in Anthropology at The New School for Social Research. She is interested in the intersection of science, technology and finance and is studying pharmaceutical pricing practices and healthcare policies in the U.S. and China. Before graduate school, Leila earned a BA in East Asian Studies from Barnard College and worked as a documentary media producer at the NYC Department of Design and Construction.
Yan Cong
Co-producer
Yan Cong is a researcher and visual storyteller based in Amsterdam, The Netherlands. She previously worked as a photojournalist and video producer in Beijing for 6 years. Her work has been published internationally such as The New York Times, The Washington Post, Bloomberg, and Vice. Yan was selected as one of the six global talents in Asia by World Press Photo's 6x6 program, and was a Logan Nonfiction Fellow at Carey Institute for Global Good.Yan is the co-founder of Far & Near, a newsletter highlighting stories created and published by Chinese visual journalists, artists, and filmmakers that are not typically seen internationally. She is a member of Women Photograph and Diversify Photo. Yan holds an M.S. in journalism from Columbia Journalism School, and is currently pursuing a research Master in media studies at University of Amsterdam.
Executive Producers
Esther Robinson, Laura Poitras,
Charlotte Cook
Executive Producers for American Documentary | POV
Erika Dilday and Chris White
Key Credits
Written, Produced, and Directed by Leslie Tai
Producer Jillian Schultz
Executive Producers Esther Robinson, Laura Poitras, Charlotte Cook
Executive Producers for American Documentary | POV Erika Dilday, Chris White
Co-Producers Chocho Tang, Elivia Shaw, Leila Lin, Yan Cong
Director of Photography Leslie Tai
Edited by Leslie Tai
Co-Editor Elivia Shaw
Additional Editing by Iva Radivojevic
Consulting Producers Maya E. Rudolph, Rajal Pitroda, Meghan O’Hara, Helen Hood Scheer, Jamie Meltzer
Re-recording Mixer Jeremiah Moore
Online Editor and Colorist Robert Arnold
A BIG BELLY WOMAN Production
A Co-Production of AMERICAN DOCUMENTARY | POV
In Association with FIELD OF VISION, FORK FILMS, and TWO TIGERS PRODUCTIONS
This film was supported by grants from:
Creative Capital - Field of Vision - Fork Films - SFFILM - California Humanities - Women in Film - Firelight Media
Tribeca Film Institute - Center for Cultural Innovation - Chicken & Egg Pictures - Pacific Pioneer Fund
From the Heart Productions - Keep the Lights On: XTR, Park Pictures, Wavelength
Contact us.
General inquiries
americanbabyfilm@gmail.com