Hot Docs 2016: Future Baby

In 1978, the world witnessed the birth of the first “test tube baby,” produced through a process of in vitro fertilization (IVF). Future Baby explores the world left in the wake of that scientific breakthrough. The film acts as a primer on the rapidly-expanding field of reproductive science, examining the many ways that science has circumvented infertility and natural selection in order to impregnate infertile women or produce babies that are free of genetic deficiency.

Maria Armalovsky’s Future Baby explores fascinating subject matter that has a dramatic emotional and physiological influence on the lives of millions of individuals. It’s a timely film, giving an illuminating look at the ways that science has compensated for nature’s deficiencies when it comes to producing children. However, despite its inherently-fascinating subject matter, the film’s focus is scattershot. 

While the first 20-minutes or so convey the sense that the film will focus on the specifics of IVF, the film never rests on one aspect of advanced childbearing. It jumps from Mexico to Austria to Israel, and is as likely to focus on surrogate pregnancy as infertility treatments. While the film seems to offer a primer on the many ways that science has changed the way people conceive children, its broad focus lessons its impact.

In the end, what’s missing is a rigorous examination of the emotional fallout of childbearing and the challenges of IVF. Like its name, Future Baby ends up being a tad too clinically detached.

5 out of 10

Future Baby (2016, Austrai)

Directed by Maria Arlamovsky.

This article was originally published on the now-defunct Toronto Film Scene.