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My inspiration for making Agency is my community. Many of my lesbian couple friends have had children using sperm donors. Gay male friends have had children through surrogates. Some queer couple friends have adopted children of races different from their own, others have created arrangements to have and raise children together without being sexual partners. The family unit as we know it has transformed, especially in cosmopolitan centers like New York. While such themes have been explored deftly in a variety of media in the US, I haven't seen that many satisfying stories located at the intersection of South Asian and LGBTQ identities, especially in the context of starting and raising a non-traditional family. 

 

Agency explores the boundaries of friendship and fidelity between a gay male couple and their single female friend whom they proposition to become their surrogate. All three are of South Asian origin, (one is Pakistani-American while the other two are Indian-American), adding an extra layer of complexity to the story. While the story of Agency could easily play out with characters of any race or ethnicity, I believe contextualizing the narrative in the South Asian American community makes it much more specific and interesting. 

 

In terms of genre, Agency is a dramedy or comedic drama. While I wanted the desires as well as obstacles of the characters to be major, I tried to mine the humor and absurdity in the narrative. I hope that we succeeded in deepening rather than trivializing the story with our at times playful treatment of the material!