“...an empathetic film that plays like a true crime documentary in which the question is not who did it, but why.”
— The Hollywood Reporter
 
“‘Baby Doe’ Is an unflinching look at a devastating case of denied pregnancy”
— JEZEBEL

BABY DOE

UNITED STATES | 2025 | 92 minutes

Director, Producer, Cinematographer: Jessica Earnshaw
Producer: Holly Meehl Chapman
Executive Producer: Sarah Paulson, Jenny Raskin, Kelsey Koenig, Geralyn White Dreyfous, Meadow Fund, Jamie Wolf & Nathalie Seaver, Debbie L. McLeod, Tom Meadows and Peggy Case

SYNOPSIS

30 years ago, Gail Ritchey, a young woman from a conservative Christian community in rural Ohio, gave birth alone and left her newborn in the woods. Now a mother of three, her quiet suburban life is shattered when DNA evidence links her to “Geauga’s Child,” and she is arrested for murder - despite saying the baby was stillborn. Facing a life sentence, Gail leans on her family for support as she confronts the weight of societal and religious pressures. Directed by Jessica Earnshaw (Jacinta), BABY DOE cuts through the headlines to uncover the human complexity of Gail’s case - examining the intersection of women’s health, justice, and the outside forces that continue to shape stories like hers.

FESTIVALS & AWARDS
SXSW Film & TV Festival, Cleveland Intl. Film Festival, Milwaukee Film Festival, Seattle Intl. Film Festival, IFF Boston, Durban Intl. Film Festival, DC/DOX, Rooftop Films, Sidewalk Film Festival, Rocky Mountain Women’s Film Festival, Doctober, Philadelphia Film Festival, Windsro Intl. Film Festival, Unorthodocs, Cambria Film Festival, Victoria Film Festival

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SPEAKERS

Featured
JESSICA EARNSHAW (Director, Producer, Cinematographer)
JESSICA EARNSHAW (Director, Producer, Cinematographer)

Jessica Earnshaw is an award-winning documentary filmmaker and photojournalist. Her work focuses on criminal justice, familial relationships and women. Her photography has appeared in National Geographic, The Marshall Project, Mother Jones Magazine, The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, NPR, amongst others. Her first documentary feature, JACINTA (Hulu/ABC News, 2021), won the Albert Maysles Best New Documentary Director Award at the Tribeca Film Festival in 2020. JACINTA has received nominations from the International Documentary Association for best feature documentary and best director, as well as two Cinema Eye nominations for best debut feature and a spotlight award. Her film BABY DOE (2025, Impact Partners), a feature documentary, will premiere in competition at the 2025 SXSW Film Festival. Jessica was named one of DOC NYC’s “40 under 40” in 2020, she’s a graduate of the International Center of Photography, and lives in Brooklyn, New York.