Leslie Tai: How to Have an American Baby
Center for East Asian Studies
Department of Art & Art History
355 Roth Way, Stanford, CA 94305
Oshman Hall

Tracing the underground birth tourism industry from Beijing and Shanghai to Los Angeles, HOW TO HAVE AN AMERICAN BABY is a feature-length creative documentary that takes us behind the closed doors of the booming shadow economy catering to Chinese tourists who travel to the U.S. to give birth—in order to obtain U.S. citizenship for their babies. Told through a series of intimately observed, interwoven storylines, we meet expectant mothers, maternity hotel operators and operator wannabes, local doctors and civic officials, birth tourism agents in China, and the nannies, cooks, and chauffeurs that fuel this industry. Inside bedrooms, delivery rooms, and private family meetings, the story of a hidden global economy emerges – depicting the aspirations and anxieties, fortunes and tragedies that befall the ordinary people caught in the web of its influence.
Filmmaker Leslie Tai (MFA Documentary Film '13) will join us for a Q&A session following the screening. Please RSVP here.
This screening is co-sponsored by the Center for East Asian Studies (CEAS) and the Asian American Research Center at Stanford (AARCS).
Poster credit: Barbarian Flower (@Barbarianflower)
VISITOR INFORMATION: Oshman Hall is located within the McMurtry Building on Stanford campus at 355 Roth Way. Visitor parking is available in designated areas and is free after 4pm on weekdays. Alternatively, take the Caltrain to Palo Alto Transit Center and hop on the free Stanford Marguerite Shuttle. If you need a disability-related accommodation or wheelchair access information, please contact Julianne Garcia at juggarci [at] stanford.edu (juggarci[at]stanford[dot]edu). This event is open to Stanford affiliates and the general public. Admission is free.
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