Make "Finding Rose" Film Possible

A documentary film project exploring truth, forgiveness and resolution when two sisters are reunited after 44 years.  Rose was a toddler when she mysteriously disappeared during the Vietnam War. Despite their different life paths and conflicting stories of what happened that fateful day, together the sisters search for truth on a journey that becomes more than just "Finding Rose".

Through the miracle of a mail-in DNA test, Rose finds her older sister, Berni. The emotional reunion is celebrated and the sisters quickly make-up for lost time to share their stories. Discovering similarities through their different upbringing, the sisters celebrate their reunion and discover there are unexplained mysteries to what happened the day Rose was lost.  Berni's family believed that her sister was abducted while Rose's adoptive family thought she was abandoned.  Somewhere in the middle is the truth. Even though DNA doesn't lie, time, guilt and shame can alter reality.  

"Finding Rose" symbolizes our innate desire to learn who we truly are. Every rose has it's thorns. The petals representing hope and new beginnings and the thorns of pain and hardship we experience to fully come to bloom. If you haven't seen the news story go to this link: http://bit.ly/SistersReunion

My sister Rose (whose adoptive name is Vanessa and now goes by Nessa Rose) and I are returning to Vietnam on May 28th so that Rose can meet our family. Through interviews, we hope to retrace what may have happened the fateful day she went missing. As a filmmaker and in tribute to our mother who passed away in 2012, we want to complete what CBS4 captured as a snapshot of our reunion to go deeper into the complexity of the many layers of the beliefs we hold from the stories we are told.



The production in Vietnam from May 31 - June 5 was a success. We returned to the apartment building where Rose and I were staying when she disappeared and went to her childhood home. It was intense and the whole trip was emotionally charged. Rose was incredibly courageous to share stories of where she grew up, that she had walked in front of our home apartment thousands of times never knowing she was adopted and walked through the market where she had to sell hot buns and candy on the streets from the age of six-years-old. We captured Rose meeting our mother's family.  Our half brother, Thien, was super helpful to our crews that the scouting ahead of time to make production filming more efficient.  We learned new mind-blowing information with insightful interviews with critical family members.



The crew was incredible! The pre-interviews, scouting and daily call sheets to keep on schedule helped to keep our expenses reasonable. I hired Anh Tran and his production company Happy Canvas Films to help with the production. Anh and his crew showed such dedication and passion that Happy Canvas Films is now partnering with my production company to complete the documentary.



We are now in the second phase of fundraising to:
1. Translate the interviews from Vietnamese to English
2. Audio sync the interivews
3. Log all the footage
4. Transcribe the audio
5. Create a teaser trailer sizzle reel for campaigning
6. Schedule interviews in the US with our father in Houston and Rose's adoptive sisters



We would love and appreciate your support to finish important elements of production so we can move into post-production!!

Through the generous fiscal agency of The Journey Institute, all donations are tax-deductible. Any dollar amount is greatly appreciated.

After my finishing the production in India for my first documentary project, Berni's Journey, in 2011, I wanted to return to Vietnam with my mother to see if we could find Rose. I knew that the project title would be named "Finding Rose". Howeverour mother passed away in 2012 so I thought the project died with her. 

Our family has been given a miracle with Rose finding us through a cousin. Both did DNA tests through Family Tree. On December 16th, our lives changed forever when we were able to speak for the first time. Rose was not even 2-years old when she disappeared. We are so grateful to be reunited and want to give back through our story. We have found that our reunion gives hope to others who may be searching, whether for their birth families, or even just finding truth and peace within themselves. 

Your tax-deductible contribution is greatly appreciated!

In Gratitude,

Berni and Nessa Rose