Audacity of Hope
Audacity of Hope
What would you do for a pizza? For eight men on a train, that’s a no brainier . . . order a pizza. They have a couple seconds to exchange a pizza at a train stop, there’s no rehearsal and only one chance. Can it be done? In the words of eight happy men on a train, “No you did not order pizza at a stop.” Mission accomplished.
First Comes Love
With your biological clock ticking and a diminishing ovarian reserve, a sperm donor seems to be the right move. At least it was for actor and director, Nina Davenport. This biological compulsion to have a kid was all Nina could think about, especially after her mother died suddenly while in France from a stroke or heart attack. “I’m still learning what a great mother she is even while I learn to live without her,” said Nina. After a very long process Nina decided she was going to have a husband-free procreation at the age of 41. She decided she wasn’t going to spend anymore time in the past and to just focus on the present. Despite the lack of involvement from her family, she asked her gay best friend since college if she could have his sperm.
Pregnant Nina Davenport in First Comes Love
With no hesitation from him, she started the process of getting artificially inseminated by shooting up numerous hormones multiple times a day. Without further ado, the test came back positive! “I love kids because I’m ultimately not responsible for their well-being,” said sperm donor Eric, explaining why he was not interested in having children of his own.
Amy, a 10 year friend, soon became Nina’s childbirth partner and went through the whole pregnancy with her. After nine long months of waiting, Nina’s baby boy, Jasper Davenport, was born at 10:31 pm weighing 6 pounds and 19 ¼ inches long. “How this tiny little boy can create such colossal feelings, I’m in love,” said Nina.
Actor and Director, Nina Davenport
Q&A with Actor/Director Nina Davenport
After the film, there was a very personal Q & A session with actor and director, Nina Davenport. She started off by saying “I can handle every question, nothing is too personal or embarrassing; especially after everything you’ve just seen.” During the film, Nina was completely open to everything she was going through, even the birth of her child which she filmed for us to view. She said there were “hundreds of hours, tons of things that got cut out including over 80 hours of family footage growing up. The birth alone was over 2.5 hours and what pregnancy isn’t boring.”
A member of the audience asked how her perception has changed on single motherhood. “It turned out to be easier than I thought it was going to be,” said Nina. “I pictured myself doing it alone and it’s not the case,” she continued to say. “Eric is still involved and my father is still difficult to deal with but if you would have told me at 30/35 I would have been a single mother, I would have been terrified,” said Nina.
How are dealing with your mother gone? “You don’t get over it, it’s always hard. She was so lovely and funny, everyone loved her. It hasn’t been the same since,” said Nina.
Overall, I was impressed at how great a documentary it was, It really captured my attention for the entire hour and forty five minutes. It’s nice to know people aren’t afraid to break the mold of today’s cultural norms. Nina said it best, “it’s not ideal, but what’s ideal anyway.”
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