Zhana and her teenage daughter Elene live in Tbilisi. Although Zhana was raised without the nurturing of family and spent some time on the streets, they have a close and loving relationship. Getting by isn’t easy though, and Zhana chooses to donate her body and sacrifice her health for her daughter’s future by becoming a surrogate mother. In the grey areas of the surrogacy business, Zhana is vulnerable and her body is subjected to a life-threatening load. At first she tries to hide her pregnancies from Elene, but as her daughter gets older she starts to ask questions. In close proximity over many years, this intimate close up of a mother-daughter relationship is treated with respect and sensitivity.

In Georgian with subtitles in Latvian and English.

Georgia is a popular international destination for surrogacy – it’s currently one of the rare countries where surrogacy is still available to foreigners. The sector has grown also due to war-induced restrictions in Ukraine and Russia. At the same time, this popularity has increased international attention and discussions on protecting the health of surrogate mothers and the ethical risks. The Georgian government has announced plans to limit the access to surrogacy services for foreigners soon.