Film
Our Father
Our Father documents the true story of Dr. Donald Cline, an Indianapolis fertility specialist who secretly used his own sperm on hundreds of patients over decades. It's a meticulous investigation into medical betrayal, identity, and the gaps in regulation that allowed this abuse. Crucial viewing about institutional failure and personal violation.
If you liked this
The Toys That Made Us2017
Netflix's docuseries examines how beloved products shaped culture. Like Our Father, it traces systemic stories through personal testimony, though here the tone is nostalgic rather than accusatory.
But The format can feel glossy and promotional, especially compared to the investigative weight you want from this subject.
Abducted in Plain Sight2017
Another Netflix documentary about a young woman's discovery of a crime that should never have happened. Both expose how institutions and people enabled ongoing harm through negligence and misplaced trust.
But Some find the family dynamics depicted uncomfortable to watch, and pacing can feel repetitive in places.
The Pharmacist2020
Explores how one person uncovered systematic corruption in pharmacy and drug distribution. Shares Our Father's DNA of personal discovery leading to institutional reckoning.
But More crime-focused than character-driven; less intimate than the fertility clinic story.
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The wildcard
Something you would not have found on your own.
The Tale2018
Both centre on a person discovering that their entire understanding of their past was constructed through institutional deception; both use formal innovation to capture the disorientation of that reckoning.
Jennifer Fox's animated documentary reconstructs her own childhood sexual abuse through interviews and rotoscope sequences. It shares Our Father's unflinching examination of violation and institutional betrayal, but uses surreal visual language to convey trauma in ways documentary realism cannot.
But The animation style is deliberately unsettling and alienating; some find the formal experiment gets in the way of emotional connection.
More like this (4)
Fyre2019
A masterclass in documenting deception and systemic failure. Like Our Father, it pieces together how a charismatic figure fooled people through authority and confidence.
But The tone is sometimes darkly comedic, which lands differently when the subject is fraud rather than medical violation.
Athlete A2020
Investigates abuse within USA Gymnastics by centering the voices of victims. Both films show how institutional silence and prestige enabled predatory behaviour to continue.
But Extremely difficult viewing. Some sequences are genuinely traumatic to sit through.
Hillbilly Elegy2020
A documentary about generational trauma and the systems that trap people. Shares thematic ground on how institutions fail vulnerable people.
But The narrative framing can feel patronizing, and the film doesn't have the investigative momentum you're looking for.
The Killing of Two Lovers2021
A documentary about a man accused of attempted murder in his custody dispute. Both explore institutional failure and the gap between truth and official record.
But Considerably quieter and less propulsive than Our Father; the payoff is deliberately ambiguous.
People
Cast
- Donald ClineSelf - Fertility Doctor
- Jacoba BallardSelf
- Angela GanoteSelf
- Kylene GottSelf
- Julie HarmonSelf
- Jason HyattSelf
- Matt WhiteSelf
- Heather WoockSelf
- Dianna KieslerSelf - Julie's Mother
- Liz WhiteSelf - Matt's Mother
- Keith BoyleDonald Cline
Leslie Koch FoumbergJudge Helen Marchal
Directing
- Lucie JourdanDirector
Production
- Amanda SpainProducer
- Jason BlumProducer
- Lucie JourdanProducer
- Michael PetrellaProducer