Baby Sellers is a television film starring Jennifer Finnigan, Kirstie Alley and Arjun Gupta exposing the dark world of international baby trafficking.

Baby Sellers
Written bySuzette Couture
Directed byNick Willing
StarringJennifer Finnigan
Kirstie Alley
Arjun Gupta
Music byRich Walters
Country of originCanada
United Kingdom
Original languageEnglish
Production
ProducersMatthew O'Connor
Shan Tam
Robert Halmi Snr
CinematographyBrian Johnson
EditorAlison Grace
Running time90 minutes
Original release
ReleaseAugust 15, 2013 (2013-08-15)

Synopsis

edit

ICE agent Nic Morrison (Finnigan) investigates a corrupt US child adoption agency run by Carla Huxley (Alley) who acquires babies abroad illegally.

Production

edit

The film was shot on location in Mumbai, India, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil and Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.

Release

edit

The film aired on Lifetime on August 17, 2013.[1]

United Nations Screening

edit

Baby Sellers was invited by the UN to premiere in the Eco Soc Chamber on August 12, 2013 in front of 400 delegates, NGO's and ambassadors. After the screening, a panel of experts hosted a Q&A. Simone Monasebian, director of United Nations Office of Drugs and Crime chaired the panel which included Peter Edge, ICE Homeland Security deputy executive associate director, Greg Ramm, director of Global Programs for Save the Children, Robert Halmi, Snr, producer of Baby Sellers, and Jennifer Finnigan, star of the film.

Reception

edit

Critical reception

edit

Jackie K. Cooper of HuffPost praised the story and cast, particularly Alley's performance.[2] Dean Robbins of The Iowa Source said that the writing and direction of the film evoked "maximum outrage".[3]

Audience reception

edit

Airing on Lifetime Television Baby Sellers topped Saturday night - Number 1 amongst cable networks with 2.139 million viewers, #1; 0.848 million adults 18-49 (0.7 rating), #1[4]

Awards

edit

Winner of Best Screenplay at the 2015 Canadian Screen Awards. A further six Nominations for Best Dramatic Mini-Series or TV Movie, Best Director, Best Editing, Best Costume and Best Leading Actress.

References

edit
  1. ^ August 08, Sheridan Watson Updated; EDT, 2013 at 08:56 PM. "Watch Kirstie Alley in new 'Baby Sellers' exclusive clip". EW.com. Retrieved 2022-02-02.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  2. ^ ""Baby Sellers" Shows the Evil Side of Kirstie Alley". HuffPost. 2013-08-17. Retrieved 2022-02-02.
  3. ^ Robbins, Dean (14 August 2013). "Baby Sellers: Kirstie Alley Plays a Memorable Villain | The Sitcom Veteran Makes a Memorable Villain in Baby Sellers". Iowa Source. Retrieved 2022-02-02.
  4. ^ "Saturday's Cable Ratings: Lifetime's "Baby Sellers" Tops Viewers, Demos". thefutoncritic.com. Retrieved 2017-04-17.
edit