When Babies Don’t Come

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Synopsis

In a deeply personal account, Molatelo Mainetje, a natural story-teller and award-winning documentary filmmaker, shares her battle with infertility. Having grown up in rural GaModjadji in Limpopo Province, Mainetje’s modern lifestyle in Johannesburg bares little resemblance to her family’s. As she seeks medical assistance, the high costs and emotional strain are compounded by her family’s dissatisfaction with her ‘western’ methods. After continual disappointment, the question: ‘What is a woman if she cannot be a mother?’ consumes her.  With a rare localized perspective to the topic, Mainetje takes the audience on a journey through IVF treatment, visits to a traditional healer and practices to gain assistance from her ancestors. When Babies Don’t Come is an intimate portrait of infertility. This crucial story speaks to a much bigger issue faced by many, yet largely shrouded in silence.