First-timmer Reid’s Baby set for summer release

The Baby Formula, set for release in English Canada through Grindhouse Media on July 10, is the first full-length feature from stuntwoman-turned-director Alison Reid and has an inspired story behind its conception. When Reid heard news that the two actresses from her 2006 short film Succubus, Angela Vint and Meghan Fahlenbock, were both pregnant at the same time, she saw it as a perfect opportunity to create a sequel to the short. That meant she had to develop a script, find a crew and film the movie all within 10 months – no small feat.

She immediately got to work, hiring Richard Beattie, with whom she co-wrote Succubus, ‘to crank out a script.’ She then shot sporadically for nine months, using a rotating roster of available crew.

‘We did it as bare bones as we possibly could,’ explains Reid, ‘and we were sometimes scrambling to get a crew together. Because it was shot during the course of their pregnancy, it was like the development period and shooting period of production were melded.’

The Baby Formula tells the story of a lesbian couple who conceive babies using their own stem cells – no men required. It was a subject Reid became interested in after reading an article about mice being impregnated through the use of artificial sperm. Although the film explores the science of baby making, Reid makes it clear that the story is really about human emotion.

‘The movie starts out about the science, but it ends up being about the family and the emotion. We are really all the same and have the same wants and needs no matter how we get there,’ she says.

The most intriguing aspect of this film is the way it manages to blur the line between fiction and reality. For instance, in the ultrasound scene, the actresses were looking at 3D images of their real babies. Because of moments like this, Reid was able to get very raw performances from the cast.

‘The actors were dealing with real pregnancies, and they had real experiences to draw from. I definitely gave them full range to adlib. If you have good actors and you can give them freedom to use that creativity, then you can get some gems. We had some priceless moments that were generated by giving the actors freedom.’

The film is produced through Toronto’s Grindstone, which also has worldwide rights. It had its world premiere at the 2008 Montreal World Film Festival.