Baby God

{{Infobox film

| name = Baby God

| image = Baby God poster.jpg

| alt =

| caption = Official poster

| director = Hannah Olson

| producer = Hannah Olson

| writer =

| starring =

| music = Will Epstein

| cinematography = Justin Zweifach

| editing = Toby Shimin

| production_companies = {{Plainlist|

HBO Documentary Films
Loki Films
Gap Tooth Films

}}

| distributor = HBO

| released = {{Film date|2020|6|23|Nantucket|2020|12|2|United States}}

| runtime = 78 minutes

| country = United States

| language = English

| budget =

| gross =

}}

Baby God is a 2020 American documentary film, directed and produced by Hannah Olson, which follows Quincy Fortier, a doctor who used his own sperm to inseminate fertility patients. Heidi Ewing and Rachel Grady were executive producers under their Loki Films banner.

It had its world premiere at the Nantucket Film Festival on June 23, 2020, and was released on December 2, 2020, by HBO.

Synopsis

Quincy Fortier, in a fertility fraud scheme begun in the 1960s, for more than 30 years secretly used his own sperm to inseminate his fertility patients, without their knowledge or consent. Decades later, his biological children discover Fortier is their father and search for answers.{{cite web |last=Horton |first=Adrian |title=Baby God: how DNA testing uncovered a shocking web of fertility fraud |date=2 December 2020 |url=https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2020/dec/01/baby-god-dna-testing-fertility-fraud-quincy-fortier-nevada |work=The Guardian |access-date=19 June 2022}}

Production

Olson discovered the story after hearing about a doctor using his own sperm to inseminate his fertility patients, and brought it to Heidi Ewing and Rachel Grady who agreed to produce the film, and brought it to HBO Documentary Films who agreed to produce and distribute.{{cite web|url=https://womenandhollywood.com/hannah-olson-discusses-family-history-consent-and-her-directorial-debut-baby-god/|title=Hannah Olson Discusses Family, History, Consent, and Her Directorial Debut "Baby God"|website=Women and Hollywood|first=Cody|last=Corrall|date=December 2, 2020|access-date=December 3, 2020}} Olson felt the story was relevant in the context of Me Too movement and felt it was time to reframe the US fertility industry to a public health concern.{{cite web|url=https://www.shondaland.com/inspire/a34837371/hannah-olson-baby-god-documentary/|title=Hannah Olson Discusses Family, History, Consent, and Her Directorial Debut "Baby God"|website=Shondaland.com|first=Carla|last=Hay|date=December 2, 2020|access-date=December 3, 2020}}

Release

The film was set to have its world premiere at South by Southwest in March 2020, however, the festival was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.{{cite web|url=https://schedule.sxsw.com/2020/films/2023402|title=Baby God|website=South by Southwest|access-date=December 3, 2020}}{{cite web|url=https://www.sxsw.com/2020-event-update/|title=City of Austin Cancels SXSW March Events|website=South by Southwest|date=March 6, 2020|access-date=December 3, 2020}} The film had its world premiere at the Nantucket Film Festival on June 23, 2020.{{cite web|url=http://nantucketfilmfestival.org/nffnow-at-home/features-program|title=Baby God|website=Nantucket Film Festival|access-date=December 3, 2020|archive-date=July 12, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210712000117/https://nantucketfilmfestival.org/nffnow-at-home/features-program|url-status=dead}}{{cite web|url=http://latfusa.com/article/2020/6/here-is-2020-nantucket-film-festival-film-lineup/|title=Here Is 2020 Nantucket Film Festival Film Lineup|website=Latfusa.com|first=LATF|last=Staff|date=June 8, 2020|access-date=December 3, 2020}} It also screened at DOC NYC on November 11, 2020.{{cite web|url=https://www.docnyc.net/film/baby-god/|title=Baby God|website=DOC NYC|access-date=December 3, 2020}}{{cite web|url=https://filmmakermagazine.com/110595-five-wtf-must-sees-at-the-2020-doc-nyc%E2%80%A8-festival/|title=Five WTF Must-Sees at the 2020 DOC NYC Festival|website=Filmmaker|first=Lauren|last=Wissot|date=November 11, 2020|access-date=December 3, 2020}} It was released on December 2, 2020.{{cite web|url=http://www.thefutoncritic.com/news/2020/11/12/hbos-baby-god-debuts-december-2-343012/20201112hbo01/|title=HBO's "Baby God" Debuts December 2|website=The Futon Critic|date=November 12, 2020|access-date=December 3, 2020}}

Reception

=Critical reception=

Baby God holds {{a or an|{{RT data|score}}}} approval rating on the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, based on {{RT data|count}} reviews, with an average of {{RT data|average}}. The site's critical consensus reads, "Baby God is unavoidably nauseating as it unearths a heinous legacy, but Hannah Olson's sensitive study of the victims gives this documentary a worthwhile poignancy."{{cite web|url=https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/baby_god|title=Baby God (2020)|website=Rotten Tomatoes|publisher=Fandango|access-date={{RT data|access date}}}}