BIPOC Adoptees Docuseries
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Join the movement to amplify BIPOC Adoptee voices!
This is a grassroots documentary film project featuring BIPOC Adoptee voices. Led by the organization BIPOC Adoptees, this passion project was born out of a need to hear and connect with more voices in our BIPOC Adoptee community.
BIPOC Adoptees Docuseries production is part of VOICES, a BIPOC Adoptee Community, a registered tax-exempt organization under section 501(c)3 of the IRS Code. Donations to BIPOC Adoptees Docuseries are tax-deductible. The VOICES tax identification number is EIN: 93-2517170. Learn more here.
Our first short film will tell the stories of BIPOC Adoptees who are Parents. Adoption is complicated and the impact of being adopted can be felt in generations of families. The parents featured in this short film will shed light on themes like Identity and Genetic mirroring (the impact of seeing kin for the first time in the faces of their own children). Alongside the stories shared by our subjects we will interweave content that sheds light on the historical context of adoption.
We are actively fundraising for this Parents-focused short film with the hopes of finalizing production in January 2024. While we are currently only seeking funds for this film, we hope to expand this project to include additional BIPOC Adoptee stories featuring more identities within our community – artists, therapists, educators, policy-makers, and more.
We need you!
Why is this important work? What would you be investing in?
Well, adoption is often misunderstood and adoptees and their families are left with little support after placements. There is a lack of education around the impact of racism, privilege, mental health and grief when it comes to adoption and we want to shift the narrative.
The harsher truth about adoption is that it is a multi-billion dollar business with many corrupt or negligent practices. Adoptees and their families are often left to struggle with the trauma adoption can cause on their own. This docuseries project is important and valuable not only to adoptees, but to everyone interested in challenging traditional views of adoption.
You have an opportunity!
With your donations and support you will help produce content that will educate about the truths of adoption from the perspective of BIPOC adoptee voices. Your effort to share this project with your community is also important! We want to cast the net as wide as possible to connect with more BIPOC adoptees and to bring the adoption narrative into the light. Whether you are part of an adoptive family or not, it’s likely that you know and love someone impacted by adoption.
Funding Request
Your donation goes directly towards producing our first short documentary film BIPOC Adoptees: Parenthood. We will use this short film to submit to more funding opportunities, investors, and film festivals to secure funds for future short documentary films. This is a community production and our team is made up of BIPOC Adoptee talent, BIPOC creatives in our community, BIPOC adoptee stories, and consultants who are themselves BIPOC Adoptees. Our collective voices are a force and we want to harness that passion into this project.
Our team is committed to building a documentary project that is built with intention and care. We are committed to high production value because this is what our stories deserve.
The total budget for this Proof of Concept is $20,000. We have already received $5,000 from the Regional Arts & Culture Council (RACC).
Representation Matters
The production team is diverse and made up of BIPOC Adoptees and BIPOC creatives in our community. All these individuals have invested time and talent in seeing this short film come to life.
Vanessa Devin, Instagram
Jill Mann, Instagram
Angela Lares Benitez, Instagram
The Adoptee Stories Featured in this GoFundMe are:
Rae Nelson
Danni Mar
Mary Sents
Lisa MacLellan
Teneil Foote
Mary Nesmith
Bryan Nesmith
Linneas Boland-Godbey
Steve Kalb
Summer Luu
BIPOC Adoptee Consultants
These adoptee consultants are involved in the production of this Proof of Concept. They are critical in providing a professional adoptee lens on the additional content and background information we incorporate in our docuseries.
JaeRan Kim, PhD, Associate Professor at University Washington Tacoma, Instagram
Cam Lee Small, MS, LPCC, Masters in Counseling Psychology, Licensed Professional Clinical Counselor, LinkedIn, Facebook, and Instagram
It takes a community to make change. Along with all folks listed above - shout out to all the individuals who have lent their time, support, expertise, and encouragement to the BIPOC Adoptees community :
Anica Falcone-Juengert
Annabelle Smith
Ariel Kiyabu
Angie Keam
Danni Mar
Eleazar Ruiz at Odd Notion
Emily Kuester
Isaac Etter
Joon Ae Haworth-Kaufka
Justine Yee
Kaylee Domzalski
Kim Gonzalez
Lily Guth
Leah Amich
Mary Nesmith
Michelle Leipzig
Mary Carman
Mathura Hawley
Mai Li O’Keefe
Rae Nelson
Rick Turoczy at PIE PDX
Steve Kalb
Sheila Rucilez
Stef Henning
James Hesse
Tom Sollitt
Visit us on the Web
Follow us on Instagram
Follow us on YouTube
Reach out if you have any questions at bipocadoptees [ at character ] gmail [dot com]
Organizer
BIPOC Adoptees Docuseries
Organizer
Portland, OR