This series on contemporary China is filmed from an insiders point of view and portrays daily life in one of the nation's busiest and most iconic cities. The three episodes provide a window into China today, giving viewers an opportunity to assess the similarities and differences between China and other cultures.

This remarkable film profiles a couple that craves personal freedom, but is faced with the unwanted constraints of parenthood. In a society where grandmothers are expected to care for babies, how much freedom is it reasonable for a mother to expect?

When Jun finds herself pregnant, she agrees to marry Long to avoid stigma and judgment. Jun is an English translator with a specialty in Virginia Woolf novels who identifies strongly with Woolf’s quest for independence. Long is a PhD candidate who is bored with reading about Karl Marx and takes a different approach to studying his subject.

The film captures disagreements between Jun and her mother as new child-rearing theories spar with traditional ones. Jun’s disdain for her mother and plans for her career only elevate the tension, as she reveals her intentions to travel to Australia for coursework, leaving her husband and baby behind. When My Child Is Born gives audiences a glimpse of one manifestation of feminism in a Chinese family.

Toronto International Film Festival 2010