A mother of an adopted Chinese girl has spoken to me about Open University and their connection with The BBC with Professor Robert Winston. I did actually have a previous interest, particularly in a longitudinal series that Open University are still doing partnered with The BBC. Thirteen years ago the BBC set out on an ambitious project; to follow the lives of 25 children after their birth at the turn of the millennium. However, currently the episodes are no longer available to watch online.
Also she sent me a link which is where there is a documentary called International Adoption that she was chiefly involved with. It is only about 2 minutes long and is currently available to download for free and can be found on iTunes.
Because of these real life examples in England, I think if my documentary were to really be funded and distributed these would probably be the organisations that I will decided to work with.
A long time ago when me and my brothers were first adopted, we were asked by our social worker to draw what we thought we understood about what was happening, this was our Life Story Scroll. Only a few years ago, I decided to take pictures of the scroll we had drawn on and I've only now just remembered that we did it. It contains mainly drawings by us and our foster sisters and the were captions written by our foster mother, care worker and ourselves. Here is one photo taken from it:
I also found an article that my parents still have, from when we were initially put up for adoption. I actually don't remember this being taken, but I might include this, thus demonstrating an example of how some people may have been adopted.
I am planning on doing my last bit of filming this Saturday, 23rd November. I will mainly be interviewing groups of children and possibly some parents. I would like to get shots from different places, the locations will be at Hertfordshire Univeristy Weston Auditorium and at a chinese restaurant, both of which are in Hatfield.
The age rating would probably be 12A or PG if released in public cinema. There will not be any "Adult Language" or "Violence". But the age rating may be due to perhaps the complexity and emotions of the content.
Due to the fact that almost everything on the internet is influenced strongly on America, I found it difficult to find information such as facts or statistics from organisations with English families; therefore my research ended up being prominently based on my own experience and also from some friends'. This is not too much of a problem because I feel that I have enough knowledge on this particular topic as it is very personal to me, I also know and am part of adoption organisations such as CACH whereby I can gain contact with other families.
I have been watching a few general documentaries in my own leisure time and I have noticed that most of them involve footage of the participants while they are travelling. They show them talking to the camera whilst sitting in their car on the way to a specified and previously mentioned location that is significant to the particular documentary. Because I noticed this, I think I will do some filming in a similar way; in a car on the way to somewhere. Here is an example: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=58BKxX4BUmM
The music choices I have made are produced by Asian-American artists. This is because I wanted to keep with the main theme and also because there are currently no British-Chinese musicians of the same/similar music genre at the moment.
The genre of my documentary is emotional drama. I have chosen the music specifically due to the songs containing mostly light tones and violins sounds, which are used predominantly in mainstream productions to convey emotions, so combined with my footage I am aiming to cause the audience to react in the same way that the original composers of the music would have wanted too.
Using this Youtube compilation as an example, the music is made up of most orchestral string instruments and have occasional piano riffs to compliment the visuals.
These songs I have considered to include in my production are because I think the messages are very relevant, each in a different way:
Kina Grannis
A singer-song writer, she is one of my favourite artist. I've been avid fan of her's, I noticed straight away that her songs are all very mellow and each has a deep meaning to it.
Her songs have been featured on the BBC's "Wallander" Trailer and an advert from Disneyland:
Jason Chen His music is mostly originally in English but often he creates Chinese versions to appeal to a wider audience. I am planning on including this song because I want a establish even more of a connection with China.
David Choi
My long-term favourite artist. He is unsigned, which gives music more meaning to his work. His style is very calming, relaxing and all about love. In main-stream work, he created a song used in the film "Lucky", in an episode of the show "Make It Or Break It" and in several Korean Dramas.
Magnetic North This particular song is about families and being in a place called "Home", hence the title of it. This song contains lyrics that I think anybody could relate to.
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This is an electric guitar cover and rock arrangement of Pachelbel's Canon in D; one of the most familiar songs that is constantly used in the proffessional media industry. This clip is a modern take on that song, so I think the younger audiences are able to enjoy it too.
New HeightsThis is a very emotional song, it's about staying strong and finding hope within you. I think I will use this song as a closing to my production to end on an emphasis of the sensitive topic.
I have decided to call
it Yŏng Yuăn Mummy And Daddy; the term "yŏngyuăn" in Mandarin Chinese
means "Forever" in English. I chose to have half of my title in the
Chinese language because I thought it was very fitting with what culture I am focusing on. So the title would mean "Forever Mummy And Daddy", I
chose to call it this because when me and my brothers were adopted, our social
worker called the new parents our "Forever Mummy And Daddy who will love
you forever"
This title also
reflects on how hurt a young child can feel; particularly if they have been
through multiple unsuccessful placements, which can lead to having early
attachment issues. Personally, I found that I was constantly rejecting my (adoptive)
parents’ attempts to bond with us when we were young children. This was because
after several different foster situations I had quickly learnt that we were probably
not going to be with the new ones for very long, so there was no point in
bonding with them. I thought that as soon as I did, we’d be moved again and the
whole scenario would repeat itself. As a result of this it took me a very long
time to trust anybody other than my brothers, who had both experienced what I
had experienced. So I feel that if young adoptees knew that their adoptive parents
were permanent, they will not cast-off feelings like I had.
There were many different
influences as to what I had decided to do for my production. I knew straight
away that I wanted to do it about adoption because it is a big part of who I am.
CACH is very important to me because it helped me realise that there are others
in the same boat as I and the reunions were a place to interact with these
people.
Earlier in 2013, at a
reunion with CACH, members were introduced to a feature length documentary film
called “Somewhere Between” which is about a small group of American teenage
girls who were all adopted from China. It shows them answering basic questions
about their identity, becoming self-aware and explores the meaning of what it
is to be living with a different culture but managing to also fit in.
http://www.somewherebetweenmovie.com/ The film is predominantly
hand-held footage over
the course of about 3 years, from cameras which were given to the girls so that they could
document from their own points of view and shedding light on their deepest thoughts.
Linda Goldstein Knowlton adopted a baby girl called Ruby who was from China and the adoption gave Linda the inspiration to direct the film.
She has in total so far been involved in the production and directing of 16 films, predominantly documentaries, including a documentary about Sesame Street.
"All the parents were so wildly generous and trusting, part of that was because we magically all found each other.
From what I'd done before they thought I did quality work, and I'm an adaptive mom.
It was very clear that I don't make reality television.
This is an honest look at the experience.
We always questioned the girls first to develop a trusting relationship.
So fortunate that everyone reacted so positively and welcomed us so warmly all of the time, so Thank You"
This film is about these four girls, and the 79,562 girls growing up in America. Right now.
The selection process of finding four girls involved contacting families who had adopted and meeting them.
Also, organisations who had connections in Europe got involved.
China Ties Program was used to connect the girls within support groups to travel to China.
The girls also got to meet up with Iris Chin Pang Ti, an author of From Home to Homeland- a guidance and advise book about making a return trip to China.
It took in total 3 years worth of film footage following 4 girls from all over the USA
and were asked to be honest and open about their experience exploring the question "Who am I?" .
Each girl was given their own camera and asked to do video diaries on tape.
The girls didn't actually get to meet until after the second screening of it, by this time they were 20 years old.
This is another example of a documentary, however, it is very much from the parents' point of view. It shows Canadian families adoptions stories of Chinese orphans.
I have decided to do
the opening of a documentary focussing on the importance having a loving family
despite not being biologically related and how this can have an effect on how
children view themselves when being questioned by others as to where they come
from.
As I have had
first-hand experience on this matter, being adopted by a white couple, I find
it very personal and I understand that it is a very delicate subject but I know
that many teenagers actually feel very comfortable talking about it.
The documentary will
predominantly follow the opinions of teenage girls, as young adults are more
likely to find a clearer way of expressing their feelings than young children
would; they are mainly girls, which follows from China’s “One Child Policy”
whereby it was mainly girls who were given up and the boys were kept. However,
I understand that this does not mean that no boys were given up for adoption,
which is why I will also include a teenage boy. Although my main focus is on
teenage girls’ perspectives on the matter, I would also like to include the
idea of a whole family.
I am planning to
include some pieces of footage from an annual reunion with Children Adopted
from China (CACH), which is a support group for families in the United Kingdom
who have adopted children from China, are in the process of adopting or just
thinking about an international adoption from China. This organisation
currently includes around 1000 families. The reunion event is
traditionally a weekend spent at a major UK hotel. Entertainments are typically
with a Chinese theme, involving workshops and lectures on adoption and cultural
issues, and activities for the children. There is also always a lion dance
which I will include.
Also, I might include
some clips from a general cultural occasion, like the Mid-Autumn (Moon)
Festival- Which is considered as one of the most important holiday traditions
I want viewers
to have an idea of what it is like to be at these events and grasp the concept of
living with two different cultures.
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