{"id":639,"date":"2020-02-02T19:14:56","date_gmt":"2020-02-02T19:14:56","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/charissakingobrien.com\/?page_id=639"},"modified":"2024-08-20T02:59:27","modified_gmt":"2024-08-20T02:59:27","slug":"over-the-moon","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/charissakingobrien.com\/?page_id=639","title":{"rendered":"Over the Moon"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

\u201cWe\u2019ll try one last time,\u201d<\/h3>\n\n\n
\n
\"\"<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

director Charissa King-O\u2019Brien says in her latest documentary, embarking on her eighth attempt to get pregnant via artificial insemination. Charissa and her partner were both Chicago grad students when they decided to have a child in 2003, and the protracted effort was taking its toll. Charissa started filming after identifying a gay U. of C. student she says she thought \u201cwould be perfect\u201d as a sperm donor. She asked him on camera, and he considered it but ultimately declined, saying \u201cthings aren\u2019t great for queers now.\u201d (This was during the 2004 election, when opposition to gay marriage was galvanizing the Christian right.)

The King-O\u2019Briens started searching online for a sperm donor and began two years of meticulously documenting their tumultuous journey. During some medical procedures, they asked each other hard questions about why they wanted a baby, the use of fertility drugs, the financial toll of repeated attempts and \u201cthe correlation between the natural world and this somewhat unnatural way of having a baby,\u201d as Charissa says in the film during a moment of uncertainty.

\u201cThere is this perception that queer couples do not make babies the natural way\u2014and the same is true for straight couples with infertility issues,\u201d Charissa says. \u201cI wanted the film to call into question the perception that there is only one right way to have a baby or to make a family.\u201d Excerpt taken from Time Out Chicago, \u201cMothers and child
A local lesbian couple\u2019s struggle to have a baby drives a new documentary.\u201d By Ed M. Koziarski Published: November 3, 2010<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n

Drawing from her background in painting and\u00a0photography, Charissa interweaves hand drawn animation and poetic imagery\u00a0throughout the film. \u201cOver the Moon\u201d premiered at the Reeling International\u00a0Film Festival in Chicago where it won the Documentary Feature Honorable Mention\u00a0award. \u201cOver the Moon\u201d has been shown in festivals worldwide and has been part\u00a0of a traveling LGBT film outreach program in Latin America.<\/p>\n

Duration: 54 minutes, released in 2010<\/p>\n\n\n

Screenings<\/strong>
Reeling LGBT International Film Festival, Chicago, IL 2010
Madrid Int\u2019l LGBT Film Festival November 2010
LGBT Indianapolis Film Festival, November 2010
Out on Film Festival, Atlanta, GA, October 2010
Michigan Womyn\u2019s Music Festival, Sneak Preview Screening, MI, August 2010
Cinemarosa, Queens, NY, 2011

Awards<\/strong>
Community Arts Assistance Program Grant\/Award from the City of Chicago 2010
Documentary Feature \u2013 Honorable Mention, Reeling Int\u2019l Film Festival, Chicago, IL<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Review<\/strong>
\u201cDirector Charissa King-O\u2019Brien lovingly captures the challenges she and her partner Kelly faced on their path to parenthood. Beginning with their initial dream of becoming mothers, \u201cOver the Moon\u201d details their thoughtful decision making process on choices such as donor selection and the use of fertility drugs. Documenting this usually private process is a gift well shared with others in the lesbian community, who often struggle with similar issues. Well-paced and sweetly told, \u201cOver the Moon\u201d will be of much comfort for any woman hoping to have a baby, and looking for real life inspiration along the way.\u201d
Rachel Pepper
Author of \u201cThe Ultimate Guide to Pregnancy for Lesbians\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\u201cWe\u2019ll try one last time,\u201d director Charissa King-O\u2019Brien says in her latest documentary, embarking on her eighth attempt to get pregnant via artificial insemination. Charissa and her partner were both Chicago grad students when they decided to have a child in 2003, and the protracted effort was taking its toll. Charissa started filming after identifying … <\/p>\n

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