Sarajevo review: 9-Month Contract (2025)
The love a mother can feel for her children is limitless. As well as the risks she is willing to take to offer them the best future possible. I experienced it firsthand in my family, but a powerful example can also be found in 9-Month Contract, a documentary directed by Georgian filmmaker Ketevan Vashagashvili and screened in competition at the 31st edition of the Sarajevo Film Festival. Receiving the Human Rights Award from CPH: DOX, the film follows the story of Zhana Vakhtangishvili and her daughter, Elene Kukhtinovi. The former is struggling to earn enough money to keep the latter in school and under a roof, turning to surrogacy as one of the only alternatives.
Being part of a taboo, surrogate mothers are usually invisible in society, trying to hide their sacrifice as best as possible from the scrutinising eyes. Most of them usually agree to bear another woman’s child because they are desperate and need quick money. This is also Zhana’s case, whose background is disclosed at the beginning of the film. The audience learns that she was initially homeless but managed to secure a place after her story was made public in the helmer’s short film, a project that began 12 years ago. Now her goal became not to lose the house, because it all seemed worth it when Elene was happy and receiving straight As in every subject she was studying.
The 14-year-old daughter’s maturity and supportiveness for her mother takes the public aback, as it proves that a loving parent can indeed majorly influence a child’s trajectory and personality, despite past difficulties. Elene is not bothered by her classmates’ bullying when they find out she used to live on the streets because she is aware that this fact does not define her entire life. She is also strong enough to explain to her parent that becoming a lawyer is not something she truly wishes to pursue, and while she is forever
grateful for her mother’s hard work, she would still want to figure out her own dream career path. But with its warm tones both chromatically and emotionally, 9-Month Contract is not just about putting these women’s heroic acts – coupled with their suffering – in the spotlight. It is also an educational tool for understanding surrogacy as a whole, including its actual meaning, the benefits it promises for the parties involved, the application process, and the health risks associated with prolonged practice. At only 29 years old, Zhana has gone through five C-sections, which put her life more and more in danger, all while also working as a cashier on day and night shifts. In the end, she must give up her uterus, having stretched it far beyond its usual capabilities.
As my mother used to say, “You do not know if what happens to you is for the best or for the worst”. Not being able to be a surrogate mother anymore, Zhana is forced to find other ways to achieve her goals. Encouraged by the not-at-all-embarrassed-to-have-her-as-a-colleague Elene, she chooses to do a courageous thing and be a role model once again: finish high school, get her diploma and maybe fulfil her dreams of studying law.
Original title: ცხრათვიანი კონტრაქტი
Countries: Georgia, Bulgaria & Germany
Language: Georgian
Year: 2025
Runtime: 78′
Director, Writer: Ketevan Vashagashvili
Cast: Elene Kukhtinovi, Zhana Vakhtangishvili
Producers: Martichka Bozhilova, Nino Chichua,
Natalia Gagunashvili, Anna Khazaradze, Niko Mikadze,
Sylvia Nagel
Composer: Kalin Nikolov
Cinematographer: Giviko Tukhareli
Editors: Veronica Scotti, Bernadett Tuza-Ritter
Sound Department: Tamta Mandzulashvili, Nika Paniashvili
Lighting Technician: Gela Chinchaladze
Assistant Camera: Paata Gelashvili
Editing Consultant: Valentina Cicogna
Assistant Editor: Balázs Domonkos
Colourist: Boris Tivchev
Researcher: Elene Gavashelishvili
Production Accountant: Khatuna Macharashvili
Poster Designer: Caspar Newbolt
Production Accountant: Tamar Petriashvili
Financial Manager: Iakob Zurabiani
