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The New York Times – “A Conversation on Race: A series of short films about identity in America”

This video project features countless different videos of people sharing their experiences with racism and racial identity. The site even welcomes readers to submit personal stories about their own experiences with racism and racial identity.

Adopted (2008)

Adopted tells the story of two adoptees and their families. One family is a couple preparing for the adoption of a baby girl. The other, a 32 year old adoptee from Korea that has struggled to speak with her adoptive parents her whole life about adoption. The two stories are at opposite ends of the adoption process, but both stories converge to show that love alone is not enough to make a family work.

The Drop Box (2015)

Pastor Lee Jong Rak is a pastor in South Korea. His ‘drop box’ is a space where children can be placed if the parent decides to give up their child. Throughout the film, Pastor Lee emphasizes the special value of each child’s life, and how God has a plan for the little ones. The documentary focuses on his work with adoption and the babies placed inside his ‘drop box’.

Found (2021)

The story of three adopted Chinese-American teenage girls who discover they’re blood-related cousins on 23andMe. Their online meeting inspires the young women to confront the burning questions they have about their lost history and travel back to China.

Approved for Adoption (2012)

An animated film about a young Korean boy joining a Belgium family and his return to his birth country. The story follows him over the course of his life, and the times when his adoption influenced whether or not he felt accepted.

Somewhere Between (2011)

A documentary on four different teenage girls adopted from China under the One Child Policy who are currently living in the United States. The film explores their struggles with racism, identity formation, belonging, and race and gender.

Lion (2016)

The extraordinary birth search family based on a true story. When a little boy from India gets lost on a train and taken thousands of miles away from home gets adopted by an Australian couple. With his unforgettable memories, his determination, and the online technology Google Earth, 25 years later Saroo sets out to find his first home.

Twin Sisters (2013)

This documentary film is happy and heartwarming about twin sisters who are adopted by two separate families who find their way back to each other via social media. This movie brings up topics such as growing, learning, understanding, and identity.

First Person Plural (2000)

This documentary film tells the true story of an 8-year old girl who is adopted by an American family, only to discover years later that she has a birth family in Korea. The documentary explores themes of identity, race, assimilation, and birth family reunion.

Searching for Go-Hyang (1998)

This film is about twin sisters who are adopted into the US but return back to Korea 14 years later in hopes of exploring and reconnecting with their homeland and roots. This story addresses issues of national identity and cross cultural adoption.

aka DAN: Korean Adoption Documentary

Dan Matthews is a Korean adoptee who journeys back to Korea to reunite with his biological family, including a twin brother he never knew he had. He has all this documented and shared on his YouTube channel for his fans/followers to follow along to.

Twinsters (2015)

This documentary tells the true-life story of identical twin sisters separated at birth who discover each other online. They meet and confirm their identity with a DNA test, and they set out to explore aspects of their background together. One twin lives in the US while the other twin lives in France.

Blue Bayou (2021)

A Korean-American man raised in the Louisiana bayou works hard to make ends meet for his family. However, he must confront ghosts of his past when he discovers he could be deported from the US and sent back to South Korea.

One Child Nation (2019)

This film includes the various diverse perspectives on the one child policy that China implemented in 1980, from the people who carried out the policy to the people who fell victim to the policy. This film is for anyone interested in learning about one of China’s biggest and most impactful planning initiatives. It’s an eye-opening documentary to give new perspectives and understandings of the causes and effects of the policy.