NARRATIVE FEATURE

Director + Writer Ellen Rodnianski
Cinematography David Khayznikov
Filmed in Austin, TX | Summer 2023

From the Writer: Growing Pains was originally a short film I made in Russia, where I grew up (though my family is Ukrainian). It was a story I thought I was done with, until Roe was overturned last June. I returned to my short film then, and took my lead character and set the story in Small Town, Texas. Here is the link to the short film : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jQlX7sS1HaY&t=3s 

Renamed AMERICAN BABY:  A devout Baptist, Oli becomes a pariah in her community when she gets pregnant at 15. American Baby follows Oli as she deals with the repercussions of being very young and very pregnant in Small Town, Texas. As she seeks out the suddenly absent teenage father-to-be of her child, Oli confronts the growing isolation from her community.