5 Hours with Raja

New Zealand / 2009 / Anna McKessar / 52 mins

5 Hours with Raja charts the experiences of a young mother who chooses to carry her unborn baby to term, despite the diagnosis of a fatal birth defect. Despite being told that the baby would have little chance for survival, Claudia and her husband Amit, decide to follow through with their pregnancy and the baby’s birth. The result is a heart-wrenching and confronting film that reveals the profound impact that the short-life of the baby would have on the couple and their extended family in the following months and years to come.

Through first-hand narration by the young mother, Claudia shares with us the chain of events that took place from the moment of the diagnosis. At face a story about death, 5 Hours with Raja is ultimately a love story that reveals the circumstances that precipitated the couple’s “pro-love” decision to continue with the pregnancy. Cutting through the pro-life and pro-choice debate the film takes us on a moving and personal journey uncluttered by the meaningless din of rhetoric, politics and dogma.

5 Hours with Raja is a moving story that will leave us enlightened and challenged, regardless of our religious beliefs and political affiliations.