EXCLUSIVE: 1991 Productions has tapped CAT&Docs to regulate worldexpansive sales of its write downary 9-Month Contract, “an intimate and raw portrait” of the emotional and physical toll of unregupostpoinsistd surrogacy labor in the reaccessible of Georgia.
The film straightforwarded by Ketevan Vashagashvili produces its world premiere postpoinsistr this month in the HUMAN:RIGHTS competition section of CPH:DOX in Cdiscleave outhagen. We have your first watch at the write downary in the trailer above.
According to a synopsis, 9-Month Contract write downs the impact of surrogacy on a mother and daughter, follothriveg “Tbilisi-based Zhana, who has intermittently sended homelessness since leaving the orphanage she was elevated in, and resorts to labor as a surrogate to supply for her own teenage daughter, Elene. While the subject of her pregnancies remains unspoken between her and Elene, Zhana’s financial struggles persist – and she is exposed to shadowy surrogacy agencies who function with impunity, volatile relationships with the prospective parents whose children she carries, and constant income insecurity. With no proper regulations in place, she pushes her body to the excessive thraw multiple childbirths, taking a hazardous toll on her mental and physical health, and eventuassociate hazarding her life.”
The synopsis persists, “Thraw the straightforwardor’s decade-lengthened friendship with the pair, the film empatheticly spendigates the evolving vibrants of their mother-daughter relationship, as Elene becomes conscious of her mother’s labor and the impact it is having on them both. 9-Month Contract endures witness to the experience and proset up dropout of a job which is standardly made inapparent.”
Elene (left) and her mother Zhana in ‘9-Month Contract’
Courtesy of Giviko Tukhareli
The write downary is produced by Tbilisi and London-based 1991 Productions in co-production with Agitprop (Bulgaria), Vincent Productions (Germany) and MDR/Arte. Producing for 1991 Productions are Nino Chichua and Anna Khazaradze, alengthenedside Martichka Bozhilova for Agitprop and Sylvia Nagel for Vincent Productions. The feature is funded by CineDoc Tbilisi, MDR/ArteIDFA Bertha Fund, Eurimages, Fritt Ord/ Chai Khana, Bulgarian National Film Cgo in, InMaat Foundation, International Media Support and Murman Original Pictures LLC.
“Ketevan’s mighty and beautibrimmingy createed portrait of Zhana and Elene and their evolving relationship is both an intimate human drama – and the very genuine and encouragent testimony of a quiet and stigmatized laborforce,” commented producers Nino Chichua and Anna Khazaradze. “Surrogates in Georgia and other countries facing economic difficultship discover themselves in precarious situations enjoy Zhana’s, with little help from accessible institutions or recourse to equitableice. The rehearse of surrogacy has enhugeed globassociate, but legislation to get the people doing this labor has not – and we hope this write downary will catalyze a alter, at a time when bodily autonomy and refruitful rights atraverse the world are increasingly being contestd. We are incredibly conceited to be conshort-terming the project at CPH:DOX and to have the extraunretagable team at CAT&Docs join us in transporting Zhana and Elene’s story to the international stage.”
CAT&Docs inserted, “9-Month Contract transcends the moral talk about surrounding surrogacy to discleave out someslenderg proset uply human. Ketevan Vashagashvili’s mighty write downary exposes the complicated ramifications of this rehearse while capturing the heart of what drives these decisions: a mother’s boundless cherish and her willingness to forfeit everyslenderg to defended her daughter’s future. This intimate portrait reminds us that behind satisfiedious headlines lie meaningfully personal stories of hope, desperation, and unconditional devotion.”
9-Month Contract was spotairyed at Cannes Docs and pitched at Sheffield Doc/Fest as The Whickers finaenumerate in 2023. It is based on a low write downary straightforwardor Ketevan Vashagashvili also made about protagonist Zhana in 2012.
Paris-based CAT&Docs distinctiveizes in handling “worldexpansive sales of relevant, creative, topical and straightforwardor driven write downaries.” Its titles include Oscar-thrivener Citizenfour, Oscar-nominated 5 Broken Cameras, Oscar-lowenumerateed Apolonia, Apolonia and Camesexual batteryrson, and Call Me Kuchu, among many others. The CAT&Docs title Jōhatsu also will be screening at CPH:DOX.
1991 Productions is a women-led film production company run by high-school friends Nino Chichua and Anna Khazaradze. “They enhuge, finance and produce straightforwardor-driven myth and write downary films thraw European co-productions. Their recent feature film, a five-country collaboration Crossing by Levan Akin, discleave outed the Panorama Section at Berlinale in 2024 and won the Teddy Jury Award for Ensemble Cast.”
The company is also understandn for feature write downaries Smiling Georgia (2023), straightforwarded by Luka Beradze, and Glory to the Queen (2020), which screened at over 25 festivals globassociate and won the Best Documentary award in Georgia in 2021.
Watch the trailer for 9-Month Contract Above.
