Festival Footage
Experience some of the films, podcasts and blogs we made from 2016-2019 to get the Fertility Fest feeling
Fertility Fest films
Fertility Fest Showreel
The Quiet House
By Gareth Farr
A glimpse into the life of a couple undergoing fertility treatment
The centerpiece of the first ever Fertility Fest in 2016
The Pain of Never
By Jessica Hepburn
From 21 Miles: Swimming in Search of the Meaning of Motherhood
Lisa Faulkner in conversation with Mohammed Taranissi
Lisa Faulkner – actress, MasterChef-winning cook and author of the amazing book about her journey to motherhood Meant to Be – in conversation with one of the UK’s most revered fertility doctors, Mohammed Taranissi as part of Fertility Fest @ The Fertility Show
What does Fertility Fest mean to you?
Fertility Fest 2019 trailer
Fertility Fest 2018 trailer
Does Motherhood Make You Happy?
Fertility Fest Founder Jessica Hepburn talks about her new book, the story of one woman who ate 21 meals with 21 women and then swam 21 miles to find out the answer to the question: does motherhood make you happy?
What Comes First: The Career or the Egg?
Go to university. Get on the career ladder. Kiss a few frogs before finding your prince (or princess). But what does this mean for your eggs? How can you have children at the biologically optimum age of twenty-five if you’ve got to do all those other things first?
The Doctor in the Bedroom
No one would chose to make a baby in a laboratory. Would they? It’s hardly roses and candles. Is it? So what does it really feel like to have the doctor in your bedroom?
When A.R.T. Doesn’t Work
IVF is a modern miracle – it’s given millions of people the families they dream of. But roughly two thirds of all treatment cycles fail and the emotional impact can be devastating whatever your outcome in the end.
The M Word: Miscarriage, Not Motherhood
Experts believe that more than one in five pregnancies ends in miscarriage. So why do we still not talk enough about ‘The M Word’?
Fertility Fight Club 1
Four artists and fertility experts take to the stage to fight for what they believe in, followed by live discussion and debate. In this session: Prof Joyce Harper from UCL, writer, speaker and broadcaster Sheridan Voysey, Dr Zeynep Gurtin from the London Women’s Clinic, and Theatre Director Sarah Esdaile.
Fertility Fight Club 2
Four artists and fertility experts take to the stage to fight for what they believe in, followed by live discussion and debate. In this session: author and founder of Gateway Women Jody Day, Professor Geeta Nargund from St George’s Hospital, egg donor and former Chief Executive of the National Gamete Donation Trust Laura Spoelstra, and journalist and broadcaster Sarfraz Manzoor.
Fertility Fight Club 3
Four artists and fertility experts take to the stage to fight for what they believe in, followed by live discussion and debate. In this session: film-maker Josh Appignanesi, Prof Emily Jackson from The London School of Economics, author Diane Chandler, and writer and theatremaker Stella Duffy.
Modern Families
A video overview of the Modern Families project
Modern Families: Young people’s reactions
Young people’s reactions to the Modern Families project
Fertility Fest podcasts
Fertility Fest 2019
Fertility Fest 2019 podcast takeover
Available only to Patreon supporters of The Fertility Podcast
Fertility Fest’s Jessica Hepburn and Gabby Vautier talk about how it came to be, what to expect and some of their best bits.
Fertility Fest 2019 Showcase
An audio overview of Fertility Fest 2019 from Natalie Silverman of The Fertility Podcast
MODERN FAMILIES
Excerpts from the celebrity panel – including Masterchef-winning cook and actor Lisa Faulkner; and Izzy Judd, musician, best-selling author, wife to McFly’s Harry and mum to Lola and Kit – in discussion with fertility experts.
THE INVISIBLE MAN
For too long the male experience has been invisible. It’s been assumed that men have the ‘easy bit’. But is this really true? Actor and Writer Rod Silvers joins rapping Reverend Elis Matthews and leading fertility experts to discuss.
THE QUEER FAMILY
Available only to Patreon supporters of The Fertility Podcast
The panel discusses how the combination of legalised gay marriage and advances in reproductive science has led to an exponential growth in surrogacy, donation, co-parenting and adoption amongst same sex couples and singles.
MISCARRIAGE
The ‘M’ Word. More common than you might think. Less talked about than it should be. In this session, miscarriage comes out of the shadows into the spotlight with a whole evening dedicated to what might have been.
BIG FAT FERTILITY QUESTIONS
CNN’s Hannah Vaughnan Jones asks the ‘Big Fertility Questions’ to an expert panel of fertility specialists, artists and public figures including Professor Geeta Nargund, Geoffrey Trew, Professor Joyce Harper and Lewis Vaughan Jones.
Fertility Fest 2018
Fertility Fest 2018 Showcase
An audio overview of Fertility Fest 2018 from Natalie Silverman of The Fertility Podcast
Does Motherhood Make you Happy?
Available only to Patreon supporters of The Fertility Podcast
Fertility Fest Founder Jessica Hepburn talks about her new book, the story of one woman who ate 21 meals with 21 women and then swam 21 miles to find out the answer to the question: does motherhood make you happy?
WHAT COMES FIRST THE CAREER OR THE EGG?
Available only to Patreon supporters of The Fertility Podcast
Go to university. Get on the career ladder. Kiss a few frogs before finding your prince (or princess). But what does this mean for your eggs? How can you have children at the biologically optimum age of twenty five if you’ve got to do all those other things first?
THE DOCTOR IN THE BEDROOM
Available only to Patreon supporters of The Fertility Podcast
No one would chose to make a baby in a laboratory. Would they? It’s hardly roses and candles. Is it? So what does it really feel like to have the doctor in your bedroom?
WHEN ART DOESN’T WORK
Available only to Patreon supporters of The Fertility Podcast
IVF is a modern miracle – it’s given millions of people the families they dream of. But roughly two thirds of all treatment cycles fail and the emotional impact can be devastating whatever your outcome in the end.
THE M WORD: MISCARRIAGE NOT MOTHERHOOD
Available only to Patreon supporters of The Fertility Podcast
Experts believe that more than one in five pregnancies ends in miscarriage. So why do we still not talk enough about ‘The M Word’?
FERTILITY FIGHT CLUB 1
Four artists and fertility experts take to the stage to fight for what they believe in, followed by live discussion and debate.
FERTILITY FIGHT CLUB 2
Four artists and fertility experts take to the stage to fight for what they believe in, followed by live discussion and debate.
FERTILITY FIGHT CLUB 3
Four artists and fertility experts take to the stage to fight for what they believe in, followed by live discussion and debate.
THE INVISIBLE MAN
It maybe a man’s world, but not when it comes to infertility. Too often the male experience is invisible.
RACE, RELIGION AND REPRODUCTION
Available only to Patreon supporters of The Fertility Podcast
Infertility doesn’t discriminate. It affects 1 in 6 couples, whatever your race or religion. But are there different pressures and prejudices depending on the community you come from?
FERTILITY AND THE BODY
Available only to Patreon supporters of The Fertility Podcast
You need two bodies to make a baby, but how does not being able to make a baby make you feel about your body?
40 YEARS OF IVF
Available only to Patreon supporters of The Fertility Podcast
2018 marks the 40th anniversary of the birth of Louise Brown – the world’s first IVF baby. It has been one of the most important scientific and societal developments of our time.
THE BUSINESS OF FERTILITY
Available only to Patreon supporters of The Fertility Podcast
The fertility industry is booming. But is it doing enough to support the customers who are lining its pockets?
THE GIFT
Available only to Patreon supporters of The Fertility Podcast
The gift of a child is an incredible thing. But there are lots of complications to consider – should donation be altruistic or commercial; should your child have a right to seek out their genetic parent when they grow up or is it OK if they don’t have that option?
YOU, ME AND THE PORNSTAR
Available only to Patreon supporters of The Fertility Podcast
The fertility industry is booming. But is it doing enough to support the customers who are lining its pockets?
THE QUEER FAMILY
Available only to Patreon supporters of The Fertility Podcast
The Queer Family is not a new phenomenon. But in recent years there has been an exponential growth in surrogacy, assisted conception, co-parenting and adoption among same sex singles and couples. What does this mean for family-making in the future and what are the challenges that still need to be overcome?
UNPREGNANCY: INFERTILITY BEFORE IVF
Available only to Patreon supporters of The Fertility Podcast
The number of people turning to reproductive science to make a family is growing but infertility is not a modern problem. Before pregnancy tests and IVF, there was unpregnancy. What can we learn from the past?
MODERN FAMILIES
Available only to Patreon supporters of The Fertility Podcast
“When you get to a certain age, people start asking you if you’re going to get a cactus. And it’s like, I dunno, I’ve never really thought about it. But then your mates just start getting them, and when you go round you’re the only one not holding a cactus, and it’s like…do I even want one? I have no idea.”
THE UNBORN CHILD
Available only to Patreon supporters of The Fertility Podcast
What does it feel like to be the parent of a child who is never born? A baby that was only a dream, an expectation or just a cluster of cells that strived but didn’t survive?
#AWKWARD
Available only to Patreon supporters of The Fertility Podcast
Why is the language of fertility and infertility so #Awkward (or should that be #Awful?) What can we do to make the discourse better for those people who are struggling to conceive; and for their friends and family who don’t know what to say?
HOW TO MAKE SOMETHING BEAUTIFUL OUT OF A MESS
Available only to Patreon supporters of The Fertility Podcast
Whatever your outcome after struggling to conceive it will be better if you learn how to make something beautiful out of a mess.
Fertility Fest Writer-In-Residence Katy Lindemann blogs
Fertility Fest 2019 Roundup
Fertility Fest 2019 has been a three week extravaganza of incredible talks, workshops, displays, discussions and performances: I laughed, I cried, I felt informed, inspired, educated, engaged, enraged, encouraged, moved, motivated — and part of something very special...
The Invisible Man
It may be a man’s world, but not when it comes to infertility. For too long the male experience has been invisible. Read any article about infertility - chances are it’ll focus on the female’s body and the woman’s experience. Watch or listen to any segment about...
Avalanche: A Love Story
This year is the biggest festival programme yet, and the incredible actor Maxine Peake will be starring in the stage dramatisation of Julia Leigh’s powerful memoir Avalanche: A Love Story, the centrepiece of Fertility Fest 2019. When I first read Avalanche, I...
Our Mission: Fertility Education
Following on from the previous posts exploring the first and second pillars of Fertility Fest’s social mission — improving patient support and public discourse around infertility — in this post we’ll look at the third pillar: 3. To improve fertility education — young...
Our Misson: Public Discourse
Following on from the previous post exploring the first pillar of Fertility Fest’s social mission — improving patient support — in this post we’ll look at the second pillar: 2. To improve the level of public conversation about infertility and reproductive...
Our Mission: Patient Support
Fertility Fest isn’t just one of London’s top arts festivals — it has a very clear social mission. We believe in the power that artists have to tell personal stories and to explore complex societal issues, and that by bringing the arts and science together in a...
Fertility Fest 2019
Everyone has a story Fertility Fest changed my life. It sounds hyperbolic, but it really did. I came to the first Fertility Fest in 2016 with my friend Johanna: both of us unsure what to expect, but both knowing that it felt Important and Relevant — and Very Much...