THE STORY

Lia is cash-strapped, single, and wants to have a baby. Her ideal sperm donor is deep-voiced, tall, and strong… the only problem is his sperm costs way more than Lia can afford. Feeling desperate and hopelessly alone, Lia rekindles an old flame: Drew. Over the course of their romantic evening together, Drew and Lia grow intimate. But when Drew crosses a line, Lia is forced to confront how far she’ll go to get what she really wants. ‘Come’ tackles themes of power dynamics, desire, and the universal need for bodily autonomy with a tone that is darkly comedic, thrilling, and fresh.

DIRECTOR’S STATEMENT

'Come' is a very personal story for me. A few years ago—in my 30s and newly single—I found myself spiraling about the fertility cliff I was told I was rapidly approaching after blood tests and a doctor's appointment gone wrong. I left the office on the verge of a panic attack.

Suddenly an intense desire for motherhood I hadn’t known before emerged inside of me, and desperate for some semblance of control over my reproductive future, I bit the bullet and froze my eggs.

At the same time, my single cousin in her 40s was well into her years long journey of trying to have a baby with donor sperm. After several highly expensive assisted reproduction attempts, she was ultimately unsuccessful.

Our experiences left me fascinated with the world of fertility treatments—how they can be empowering, but are also cost-prohibitive, unreliable, and often capitalize on the anxiety surrounding women’s biological clocks. It’s a system that can make you feel ashamed about being single and/or broke; for not falling into a traditional mold.

With ‘Come’, I wanted to delve into my desire for parenthood on my own terms, and the societal pressures that come along with this. I hope that a bold take on this issue that subverts female tropes is empowering and thought-provoking. How far will a woman go for motherhood on her own terms when the odds feel stacked against her?