About the Film
Becoming Us is a personal film inspired by my origin story along with my four donor-conceived half siblings who were all conceived through the same anonymous Filipino donor. In early 2018, I took an AncestryDNA test in hopes of revealing the identity of the donor. Instead of finding my biological father, I connected with a donor conceived sister, Jenna, 21, living in North Carolina. This initial discovery of Jenna led to discovering other donor conceived siblings: Caden, 17, in Toledo, Ohio, Kenny, 17, in Lowell, Michigan, and Jordain, 26, in Tokyo, Japan, but originally from Cincinnati, Ohio. After all the years of feeling isolated in my unique upbringing, I finally found people who could fully relate to my struggles of navigating the Filipino identity.
In late fall and winter of 2022, I intend to film each half-sibling in their prospective hometowns across the United States. I want to be able to paint a cinematic picture of their life thus far; community, hobbies, family history, interests and the visual geography of their towns. Do they ever feel like the odd one out in their communities? Do they feel confident calling themselves Filipino? How has meeting me changed their journeys of self discovery? With the help of contributors, I'll be able to fund the first leg of this documentary as I film Caden in Toledo, Ohio and Jenna in Greensboro, North Carolina. With this additional footage, I'll be able to create more fundraising materials to showcase my vision and film concept to future funders to secure more production funding.
About the Filmmaker
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My name is Eli Hiller and I am the director behind Becoming Us.
In 2017, I backpacked the Philippines with my best friend Prince for several months. During this short trip, I felt a deep sense of peace and belonging knowing I was living in my ancestral homelands. In March, 2017, I decided on a whim to stay in the Philippines and I made Manila my home for almost four years.
Although, anytime I would meet new people they were always shocked to learn that I had no connection to my Filipino family, no provincial home, no family to guide me and no rightful claim to Filipino citizenship as the immigration bureau would remind me. This need to know my Filipino heritage eventually grew to the point of frustration, when I would rather tell white lies rather than face a reality that I had no answers for. Out of both curiosity and desperation, I took an AncestryDNA test in hopes it would reveal the identity of the donor. Instead I connected with four donor conceived half siblings across the world, but all with origins from the Midwest. This discovery prompted me to return to Ohio to focus on this personal documentary following my donor-conceived siblings struggles with identity, acceptance and belonging.
This personal film investigates what it means to be separated by the Filipinx diaspora, what sacrifices we make to fit into the Midwest and what decisions we make to stand out. This film – my first feature – means so much to me because it our story. All of the struggles my siblings will face in this film, I too have undergone and shared.
What We Need Funds For
We are currently in the development and early production phase of the documentary, these funds will be used to make trips to Toledo, Ohio and Greensboro, North Carolina to film two of my donor-conceived half siblings during the month of October and November. With this additional footage I'll be able to create more substantial fundraising materials (trailers, pitch decks, teasers) to apply for production funding. My goal of $6,000 will comfortably cover accommodations, travel, food to visit and film my half-siblings for a few weeks. Any additional funds over my goal will go to helping me travel to pitch forums, trips to film half-siblings in Michigan and Toyko, Japan, and future production funding. If we are unable to reach our goal, the fund gap will be filled by own personal funds and we will budget and schedule accordingly to reduce costs.
Breakdown of Costs:
Travel and Accommodations (Toledo & North Carolina) - 3,500
Pitch Deck Design - 500
(2x) Hard Drive 12TB - 750
Video Edit and Color Grade for Demo - 750
Indiegogo Fees and Perks Deliverables - 500
Funding and Support to Date:
Development Support - Active Vista Film Lab, Quezon City, Philippines, April, 2019
$4,000 Secured - The DMZ Docs Industry, Development Grant, South Korea, September, 2019
$2,000 Secured - Private Donation, December, 2021, Initial Film Development
$6,000 Secured - Private Donation, September, 2022, Cash for Camera Cinema Package
$50,000 Applied - The Gotham X Documentary Development Initiative, Results in October, 2022
$10,000 Applied - The AAPI Voices Fund, Kartemquin Films, Results in late October, 2022
The Impact
Although I’m no longer living in the Philippines, I want to stay true to my dedication of decolonizing Filipino narratives. Growing up I never saw films of AAPI people living in rural America. I hope my documentary can be screened to Filipinos residing in the Midwest who can relate to the themes of belonging and acceptance.
Donor insemination has been around since the 1970s, but now it’s become the preferred method for queer couples, single mothers and couples with infertility issues. There’s an estimated one million people born through donor insemination in the U.S. and 30,000 – 60,000 born annually, according to a study by The Atlantic in 2010. Many legal, ethical and social questions have arisen because of these newly popularized methods.
This film will explore the impacts of mixed-race donor conception on a racial and sociopolitical level. Did my mother and my half-siblings’ mothers think of the implications of having a mixed child? And what do we do once we determine these impacts? Does this industry care for the psychological impacts on mixed race children? I hope this project can be a conversation starter for people considering donor insemination as an option.
More Information about the Film:
Website: https://www.elihiller.com/becoming-us-docu
IG: @becomingusdocu
Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/becomingusdocu
Challenges
With my background as a journalist I’ve traditionally removed myself from the story, but now I’m turning the camera on myself and my family to reflect on the self. The characters of my prior film works are normally people marginalized by a structural inequality, but with this personal film my half-siblings are grappling with a conflict that is within, acceptance and belonging. I’ve never worked on a film that is personal in nature, and no doubt the process will challenge my directorial expertise. However, if I’m able to tell this story that encapsulates the fluidity of identity as a donor-conceived person then I’ll be proud to have created a film work that is uniquely my own vision.
Other Way to Help Support the Film:
If you are unable to financially support Becoming Us, there are many alternative acts of support that are needed to help this film reach completion. The simplest task is to sign up for the newsletter on the website to see continual updates on the film or share this campaign on your social media pages, facebook, twitter and instagram.
Please contact us at elihiller@gmail.com if you have:
- interest to volunteer your time and email potential backers for future crowd fundraisers . sign up here: https://www.elihiller.com/becoming-us-docu
- contacts to an individual donor, producer or organization that could make a substantial donation
- skills or services to offer as a professional filmmaker or creative to help create more fundraising materials such as: Designers/Illustrators to design a pitch deck, Documentary Editor to edit teasers, scene selects or trailers, Colorist for fundraising materials, Production Manager for handling logistics, securing access and scheduling, Producers with network for potential EPs or funders
- housing in Toledo, Ohio, Lowell, Michigan, Greensboro, North Carolina, Morehead City, North Carolina, Toyko, Japan.
- Studio space for editing and post-production audio
- Expertise or advice on producing a feature-length documentary
In all cases, supporters, monetary or in-kind will receive “special thanks” credits in the movie and on IMDb.