Netflix now streaming documentary Rooting For Roona about a baby with birth defect

The Netflix original documentary film Rooting For Roona, by award-winning co-directors Pavitra Chalam and Akshay Shankar, is now streaming worldwide. The powerful feature brings to light the struggles of baby Roona Begum's family who fight to provide her with proper healthcare.

The 41-minute-long documentary has been shot over six years and focuses in on the unconditional love of Roona's mother Fatema has for her daughter, who was born with a birth defect called hydrocephalus. Roona's condition was quite severe, causing her head to swell up and in 2013, a photograph shot by a local went viral, leading to medical intervention for the young family.

Rooting for Roona has been produced by Bangalore-based production house Curley Street and executive produced by Vanita Boswell.

Chalam explained, “Rooting For Roona is a love story. Her mother’s love, our love for this little girl and an army of loved ones who helped us bring this film to Netflix and the world. In the face of terrifying vulnerability and profound loss we have been able to tell a story of hope."
 
Shankar added, “Roona’s story is as unpredictable as it is inspiring. She beat the odds so often that it became expected of her. In her own gentle way, she made herself heard and now the world will hear her story. I can safely say that an audience will never forget her."

The Netflix documentary points out that every year an estimated eight million children — 6% of total births worldwide — are born with a serious birth defect, and highlights an urgent need to make birth defects a global health priority.