[Nacac-canadian-issues] Recommend 3 Adoption reunion stories on TV repeated May 13-15

[Elspeth Ross]

I recommend the "Original Kin" 3 Adoption Reunion Stories on CBC Newsworld 
at 10 pm ET May 13 - 15.
They could be taped for further discussion by adoption support groups and 
training sessions for workers.

These videos show adoption in its complexity. I can't help but contrast 
them with the way adoption is treated in the Adoption stories on the 
Discovery Health Channel and the 20/20 program. So often adoption is 
portrayed very simplistically as an event and a very difficult process and 
system which has to be overcome to bring a child into an adoptive family 
causing great happiness for the adoptive family. But seldom do we see the 
real story. All of us in support groups and Child Welfare, but especially 
new adoption workers and agencies need to come to understand the complex 
nature of adoption and the need for respect for all parties involved. Both 
the act of adoption and of adoption reunion have tremendous after effects.

One reason these three are interesting is that the established film maker 
in the first and third is actually the adoptee herself making her own video 
of her own reunion and its aftermath. In the middle one the adoptive family 
and adoptee are very involved in the filming and direction of the video. In 
these three reunion is not just an event finally achieved after difficulty, 
but has tremendous fallout and readjustment afterward. The third one is 
called "Relativity" which makes me think of the term "adoption 
constellation" which tries to capture the moving in and out of the 
relationships in adoption over time - the birth mother & birth father and 
adoptive parents and siblings, adoptive & birth, coming in and out of 
importance to the adoptee over the lifespan. There are interesting 
similarities and differences in all three videos - the adoptive mother in 
the first, supposedly supportive of the reunion but getting sick over it, 
and the adoptive parents in the third and the second, so certain and 
secure. The quest of the third film maker to find answers from experts in 
such fields as Genetics about the meaning of relationships is fascinating. 
I appreciate the spontaneity of all three videos and ease before the camera 
of all the players, who shared with us their private feelings and drama. I 
was especially moved by David's family's situation and the attempt to get 
to the bottom of his difficulties & mental health problems and seek help. 
The impossibility of living in his homeland Korea without being able to 
speak or learn the language again showed the complexity of adoption. The 
difficulties caused by secrets and lies in the second and third are clear 
(not telling who raised David in his first two years, the jealousy of the 
birth father's wife, the obstruction of reunion with birth sister and birth 
father in the third). Things are not the way the appear. With the ability 
to find people via the Internet and communicate easily across the world, we 
still faced with situations of hiding so much. What is reality? These 
videos speak about the importance of openness and honesty in adoption and 
make me respect even more those struggling to make sense of their lives and 
help others to do so.

I also recommend two other videos by film makers who film their own 
reunions and aftermath, "The Art of Autobiography" made by adoptee Dana 
Inkster (her own story and that of six others), and the old NFB film 
"Foster Child" by Aboriginal Gil Cardinal who films his efforts to open his 
records and meet his own birth family members. He stayed in one foster 
family until adulthood.

 From Elspeth Ross, educator in Adoption/permanency and Fetal Alcohol 
Spectrum Disorder, adoptive parent of young adults, Ottawa area
613 446-4144

http://www.cbc.ca/documentaries/originalkin/index.html

CBC Newsworld's "Documentary Special: ORIGINAL KIN
Broadcasting May 9 - May 11, 2004 at 10PM ET/PT on CBC Newsworld
Repeating May 13 - 15, 2004 at 10PM ET/PT on CBC Newsworld

When people go in search of their biological families, what are they hoping 
to find? And do they ever find it?
A new three-part documentary series explores the desire to reunite with 
lost family
--and the bittersweet consequences when they do.

Broken Roots - Annie Ong: Lost & Found - Relativity
Facts & Figures - Filmmakers - Resources

http://cbc.ca
cbc.ca Program Guide
CBC Newsworld

Original Kin: Annie Ong
After years of searching, Canadian filmmaker Jeannette Loakman gave up hope 
of finding her birth mother. She'd travelled overseas, even made an earlier 
documentary, but with no results. Then, an unexpected e-mail arrives, and 
Loakman suddenly finds herself with another mother, three sisters and a 
guilty conscience triggered by her adoptive mother's reaction to the news. 
The film follows Loakman as she adjusts to the trauma of a life with two 
mothers. But can she keep them both? Directed by Stefan Randström.
Want to know more? Visit the Original Kin: Annie Ong website:
http://www.cbc.ca/documentaries/originalkin/index.html
Sunday, May 9, 2004, 10:00 p.m.
REPEAT AIRING May 13, 2004, 10:00 pm.

Original Kin: Broken Roots
Chronicles 19-year-old David's struggle to find inner peace. He hopes that 
returning to his birthplace, Korea, will ease the pain at the root of his 
destructive behaviour and dangerous sense of disconnection. His adopted 
family is supportive but they consider this a last resort. But will meeting 
his Korean family quell his cultural angst? And can he handle the news that 
his biological mother was tricked into giving him up by his biological 
father? Directed by Susan Chang.
Want to know more? Visit the Original Kin: Broken Roots website:
http://www.cbc.ca/documentaries/originalkin/index.html
Monday, May 10, 2004,  10:00 p.m.
REPEAT AIRING May 14, 2004,  10:00 p.m.

Original Kin: Relativity
Brenda Kovrig says she "always hated adoption reunion shows." And yet, she 
too embarks on a journey to find her birth family, grappling with issues of 
identity, ancestry, genetics and deep, dark secrets. Funny and painful, 
Kovrig visits a philosopher, a therapist and a scientist in her search for 
clues to who she is and who she might have been. Part coming-of-age, part 
detective story, she wonders if and when she'll meet her biological family. 
Directed by Brenda Kovrig.
Want to know more? Visit the Original Kin: Relativity website:
http://www.cbc.ca/documentaries/originalkin/index.html
Tuesday, May 11, 2004, 10:00 p.m.
REPEAT AIRING May 15, 2004, 10:00 p.m.