9-Month Contract

In Tbilisi, Georgia, formerly homeless mother Zhana turns to a surrogacy agency to secure a better life for her teenage daughter Elene. What begins as a quick way to earn cash transforms into a profound sacrifice, questioning how far a mother can go.

Zhana is a Georgian mother in her late twenties, determined to give her teenage daughter Elene a better life. She hopes that the thousands of dollars she’ll receive in exchange for being a surrogate mother – a supplement to her meagre earnings as a supermarket cashier – will ease the financial pressure of raising Elene while she studies. ‘My dream is your wellbeing and education,’ Zhana tells her daughter. ‘Wellbeing isn’t a dream, mom,’ Elene answers. ‘Dreams should be big and magical.’

9-Month Contract reveals the ruthless exploitation of vulnerable women at the hands of unscrupulous agencies that operate without effective regulation. Zhana pushes her body to the extreme through multiple childbirths, taking a dangerous toll on her organs and risking her life. As Zhana’s health declines, Elene matures and eventually confronts her mother about her choices and their consequences. Through director Ketevan Vashagashvili’s decade-long friendship with the duo, the film intimately explores the evolving dynamics of the mother-daughter relationship and raises questions about the extent of a mother’s sacrifice.