March
11
Tags
Growing the Documentary
Last week I have been privileged to see an amazing transformation take place in my environment. I have declared for myself three years ago that I will make a film about my experience of trying to conceive (TTC), my emotional ups and downs and the life lessons I have learned from the experience.
While I know myself to be a very dedicated person, and generally successful in my efforts, it has been that much more difficult to accept that my dream of being a mother to a child who is half me and half my husband, Eddie, will not come to be.
I’ve struggled to make headway and create an outreach campaign for The CYCLE, my documentary, but every time I came up to the need to publicize the project, I would hit a wall. All kinds of doubts and worries would raise to the surface, neutralizing my drive to make the project public.
UNTIL, I started making humble attempts to reach out to the people I wanted to communicate with, the men and women who have experienced infertility themselves and were struggling with the aftermath of unsuccessful outcomes.
I was very fortunate to meet Pamela Tsigdinos on the internet. I noticed someone in the community referring to her book, Silent Sorority, and I went to check it out, read her blog, and finally reach out to her.
She was such a helpful friend from the start! As an author dealing with infertility, she went through all of the struggles I am facing, including public and professional indifference to the subject, lack of enthusiasm and resistance to opening the public forums for discussion. She loved my concept for the documentary, and shared it with her readership. The comments I have received were so thoughtful and immediate, so touching and real, they gave me wings!
I feel privileged to work on a project that is needed. I aim to further the line of creators who dedicate themselves to a way of accepting just who we are as people, to giving us a language and a platform to share our stories and heal the pain that lingers. That’s the transformative power we possess!
I am very grateful to Pamela Tsigdinos for accepting the invitation to join the advisory board for The CYCLE, and sharing with me a channel of communication.
If you would like to help with the efforts, please show support by Liking Vodar Films on Facebook, leaving a comment here by answering a question, What was your experience with infertility and why a documentary on the subject needs to be made?
If you are a family member, a friend or a co-worker of somebody who has experienced infertility, please tell us, What was your experience and challenge with supporting such a person?
Thank you from the bottom of my heart.
THE CYCLE RELAY 
7.3 million Americans are dealing with infertility, many of them silently. There are so many misconceptions about infertility, assisted reproduction and adoption. I applaud you for taking the initiative to bring this topic to the public eye. Let me know how I can help in getting the message out. I know you have visited by my blog http://www.recipeforafamily.wordpress.com so I will post something about your project. I hope you will guard your heart as you relive your painful journey and deal with the empty crib. But it is so helpful for all those who have gone through what you have and remain childless.
Thank you. Your encouragement comes at a very good time. My co-worker is about to have a baby today-tomorrow, and I can see how the office is rooting for him to be a father, give advices and share in the excitement of expectation. I’m happy for him, too, but it affects me on the internal level. I’ve read enough to know that asking to tone it down is not the right course of action, life goes on and you can’t stop it, but at the same time I wish our society was not that closed-minded, and the sharing could be in both directions, the joyful and the sad. We suffer when we feel we are not understood and not accepted as we are.
Your words give me courage to take a stand.
If you could write to me on http://www.facebook.com/vodarfilms, I’m aggregating all the generous offers of support there. I’m taking courses in nonprofit this april-may-june so I would know how to put together an organization that can deliver relief to people affected by infertility in association with the documentary I’m producing. I’ll need your help to make it happen.
all the best!
Please contine to make your film Irina. This film needs to be made to create awareness about the millions of couples around the world silently suffering infertility whilst watching their friends and family complete their families.
People need to understand the pain these couples are going through and the community as a whole look for ways to assist the couples rather than putting in road blocks.
There are many reasons couples suffer from infertility. They should have to suffer in silence, this should not be a taboo subject, we should not be ashamed!!
Your dedication to the subject and making the difference is inspiring! I salute you for your efforts and thank you for support. Rock on!
Hello, Irina. Thank you for your efforts to create this documentary. I found the link to your site on Pamela Tsigdinos’ blog.
Infertility is a lonely, isolating experience. It has humbled, saddened, and angered me. It has caused emotional, physical, and relational hardships. At the same time infertility has shown me just how strong I am, how much two people (my husband and me) can love and support each other, what it means to fight to achieve a goal, and how important it is to be your own advocate. Infertility has led me to understand who can support me and who isn’t invested in my well-being and why I need to know the difference. It has taught me the importance of self-care and how important it is to connect with and support other women and men who are experiencing this life crisis. And that leads me to why I think a documentary needs to be made: we need each other. We need to hear the voices and see the people and make this REAL. There is a very problematic lack of awareness and public support for this disease and it should not be such a lonely, isolating struggle.
Dear Lindsey, thank you so much for your fantastic message of support! I was so moved by it, I think I would like to read it as a closing statement at the presentation I’m about to deliver in Washington to rally support of the filmmaking community behind the documentary. As a filmmaker speaking on the subject of infertility and working to bring it to the public attention, create a language and protocol of compassion, I too need to remember that a groundbreaking effort takes a lot more work and dedication to break through the ground. I’m so inspired to hear from you! Thank you.
Dear Irina, I wish you all the best with your documentary. It’s very much needed! I have never been good at talking or writing about all the things we went through when fighting infertility. Instead, I started drawing about it. For my view on infertility, please visit my English blog. I am now a mother, but my infertility related experiences will always be a part of me. Hugs from Helsinki!
Thank you so much for your supportive words! Isn’t it amazing how much healing comes from our creative efforts? Hugs from New York!