Set in the "very near future," Sundance Film Festival standout The Pod Generation visualises a world where you could essentially outsource pregnancy to an egg-like pod device.
In Sophie Barthes' sci-fi comedy, Emilia Clarke and Chiwetel Ejiofor play Rachel and Alvy, a New York couple keen to have a baby, debating whether or not to use a pod at the sought-after Womb Center. The film explores themes of motherhood, family dynamics, work/life balance, and fears and judgment around new parenthood.
The Pod Generation was one of Mashable film editor Kristy Puchko's favourites at Sundance:
"Barthes first thrilled me with her twisted comedy-thriller Cold Souls, which starred Paul Giamatti as himself, more specifically a version of himself so burdened by the weight of his soul that he puts it into experimental storage outside his body. Barthes's latest has a similarly alluring yet alarming premise, set in a future where pregnancy has been outsourced to robotic pods. Imagine if Apple and its sleek white minimalism aesthetic got into the artificial womb business, and you've got a sense of what's in store here. Chiwetel Ejiofor and Game of Thrones' Emilia Clarke co-star as flustered parents-to-be in this mind-bending romp with a snarling wit."
The Pod Generation is in cinemas Aug. 11.
