Sperm Donors Anonymous is a cautionary and inspiring tale about the effects of anonymous sperm donation on donor-conceived children, their families and on the sperm donors themselves.
"The combination of themes – secrets in families, mystery surrounding anonymous sperm donors, and the incredible community of donor-conceived folks who were fighting to have their voices heard – all interact to tell an astonishing story." says producer Lisa Horler.
Sperm Donors Anonymous lifts the lid on donor anonymity as it looks at the effects on the donor-conceived, their families, and on the sperm donors themselves – and shows what is possible when the truth is told.
Check out our interview with Lisa Horler and director Lucy Paplinska.
How and when did you start to think of anonymous sperm donation as a topic you wanted to explore?
Lisa: I first became interested in the stories of donor-conceived folk and their anonymous sperm donors when I read about the story of Narelle Grech. Narelle was a donor-conceived adult in Melbourne who was dying of bowel cancer. She spoke about her desire and her right to know the identity of her biological father, and for many years this was refused. Her fight for information and final meeting with her biological father inspired me to research this subject. Narelle died soon after meeting her donor, so she did not participate in our film, but she belonged to a support group of donor-conceived adults, and many took part in our doco. Working on this film over the past two years, the topic has never ceased to be interesting.
What was the biggest reward directing this documentary?
Lucy: The biggest reward directing this documentary was without any doubt the relationship that I built up with the participants and the satisfaction I gained from being able to portray their experiences and beliefs on screen in a way that they are happy with. The circumstances surrounding anonymous donor conception are very complex and ethically and morally challenging. I worked very hard to portray this in a way that stayed true to the experiences of the donor conceived, their families, and the sperm donors.
Victoria appears to be at the forefront of establishing new laws for donor conceived people, but what about the anonymous sperm donors?
Lisa: One of the reasons this documentary is set mostly in Victoria, is that this state has passed numerous laws that give donor conceived people more rights to information than in other jurisdictions. In fact, Victoria is a world leader on this issue. Not only does this mean that donor conceived community here are organised and active, but there are a group of formerly anonymous sperm donors such as Ian Smith, who have stood up and said to fertility clinics and the government - we are open to contact with our donor children. The donors revealed a side to the story that was new to Lucy and I, and we were determined to include it in the documentary.
Lucy: The participants were initially wiling to share their experiences as they are all very passionate about advancing their cause - removing anonymity from donor conception both in the present and retrospectively and honouring their rights to their genetic information. However, the honest and revealing way that they were able to share their experiences as the documentary progressed was again largely to do with the trust that we built up with each other during the process, and the understanding that I was on their side and would be very careful with how they were portrayed.
What do you hope will be the take-home message for viewers of Sperm Donors Anonymous?
Lucy: I hope that when people watch Sperm Donors Anonymous it will do a number of things - encourage parents of donor-conceived children and adults to be honest about their child's conception, no matter how difficult this might seem; make people think twice about using anonymous gametes to start their families; and above all, understand how crucial having access to one's genetic information is in the formation of one's identity and the ability to make sense of oneself and one's life. This is a bit of a tall ask - but even if we achieve a fraction of this I feel that we have done some good.
Sperm Donors Anonymous was supported through our Assigned Production Investment program and had its premiere screening in August 2015 on ABC.