A man’s longing for a child leads him into a surrogacy arrangement with an embryologist and a mother, costing him his relationship and reshaping their lives as the boundaries between love, responsibility, and connection begin to blur.
Eric and Ben live in a quiet, loving relationship shaped by an unspoken tension: the longing for a child. While Ben remains rooted in the present, Eric’s desire gradually becomes an existential force, unsettling the life they have built together.
As their search for a path to parenthood leads only to dead ends, the question they once shared becomes Eric’s alone. He makes a decision that takes him beyond the limits of their relationship: to pursue surrogacy on his own.
In Johannesburg, Augustina, an embryologist, navigates the space between scientific precision and moral responsibility. Her encounter with Eric draws her into a process that begins to challenge the distance she has maintained from questions of intimacy and care.
In Mumbai, Reena, a mother, lives a life grounded in the everyday reality of raising a child. When she agrees to carry a child for someone else, Eric’s desire takes on a tangible form one that binds their lives together across distance and difference.
Across three continents, an unexpected constellation emerges. What begins as an individual longing becomes a shared experience, reshaping their understanding of love, responsibility, and belonging, and leaving open the question of what it truly means to create a family.
Sheri Hagen s a German director, screenwriter and actress from Berlin. Born in Lagos/Nigeria and raised in Hamburg, Sheri Hagen completed her training at the Hamburg "Stage School of Dance and Drama" and at the "Studio Theater an der Wien" in Austria. In addition to numerous works for film and television (including 'Das Leben der Anderen', 'Baal', 'Tatort', 'Sperling', 'On The Inside'), she has acted in various theater productions.
She first attracted attention as a screenwriter and director in 2007 with the short film STELLA UND DIE STÖRCHE/STELLA AND THE STORKS. The children's short film screened successfully at international festivals (including the mo&friese KinderKurzfilmFestival Hamburg, Chicago Int. Children's Film Festival).
In 2012, the 23rd International Film Festival Emden-Norderney awarded Sheri Hagen the special prize A Desk by the Sea for her debut feature film AUF DEN ZWEITEN BLICK/AT SECOND GLANCE. In 2013, AUF DEN ZWEITEN BLICK/AT SECOND GLANCE won the 4th Kirchen Filmfestival Recklinghausen. In the fall of 2013, Barnsteiner-Film released the feature film in German cinemas.
In 2015, Sheri Hagen founded the production company Equality Film GmbH. Since then, the production company has pursued the goal of telling films with relevant and powerful stories that show a multi-layered diverse society and highlights underrepresented voices. In her feature film FENSTER BLAU/ BLUE WINDOW (2016), Sheri Hagen adapted the play Muttermale Fenster Blau by author Sasha Marianna Salzmann.
In 2023, she and her company Equality Film were honored as Cultural and Creative Pilots by the Federal Government Commissioner for Culture and the Media.
In 2024, Sheri Hagen won the DIGITALE FEMALE LEADER EXCHANGE AWARD for her work with Equality Film
