Network of Politicized Adoptees (NPA) Recommended Film List
NPA has worked to identify and catalog documentary and dramatic films produced in Korea and elsewhere that speak to the adoptee experience in ways that counterbalance prevailing mainstream assumptions. They represent a variety of alternative viewpoints and stories directly and indirectly tied to Korean adoptee narratives. The following directory includes films that tackle the issues head on, as well as many that approach them more obliquely but no less poignantly.
Korean Adoption Documentaries
Adopted (2008) – directed by Barb Lee
We Can do Better (Companion DVD to Adopted) (2008) - directed by Barb Lee
First Person Plural (2008) – by Deann Borshay Liem
In the Matter of Cha Jung Hee (2010) - by Deann Borshay Liem
Geographies of Kinship (in production) - by Deann Borshay Liem
Voices of Adoption: Korean Adoptee Perspectives (POV) (2000)
Resilience (2009) - by Tammy Chu
Searching for Go-Hyang (1998) – by Tammy Chu
AKA Dan (2014) - by Dan Matthews
Crossing Chasms (1998) – by Jennifer Arndt-Johns
Made in Korea: A One Way Ticket From Seoul To Amsterdam (2006) – by In Soo Radstake
Outside Looking In: Transracial Adoption in America (2002) – by Phil Bertelson
Passing Through (2009) – by Nathan Adolfson
Approved for Adoption (2012) – by Jung Heinin
General Korean Documentaries with Content Relevant to Korean Adoption
Memory of Forgotten War (2013) – by Deann Borshay Liem
Children of the State – Press for Truth (2013)
General Adoption Documentaries
Closure (2013) – by Bryan Tucker
A Girl Like Her (2012) – by Ann Fessler
Paper Orphans (2012) - by Marie Ange-Sylvain
The Triumvirate (2004) – by Jean Strauss
Holding Hands – by Jean Strauss
Adopted: For the Life of Me – by Jean Strauss
Daughter from Danang (2002) – by Gail Dolgin and Vicente Franco
Girl, Adopted (2013) – by Melanie Judd
India: Calcutta Calling (2004) – by Sasha Khokha
Las Hijas (The Daughters) (2007) – by Maria Quiroga
Somewhere Between (2011) – by Linda Goldstein Knowlton
Struggle for Identity (2007) - by Deborah C. Hoard
Unlocking the Heart of Adoption (2002) – by Sheila Ganz
Dramatic Films
Philomena (2013) - by Stephen Frears
A Brand New Life (2009) (Korean film) - by Ounie Lecomte
Ode to My Father (2014) (Korean film) - by Yoon Je-kyoon
Lady Vengeance (2005) (Korean film) - by Park Chan-wook
Rabbit and Lizard (2009) (Korean film) - by Park Chan-wook
Korean Adoption Documentaries
Adopted (2008) – directed by Barb Lee
We Can do Better (Companion DVD to Adopted) (2008) - directed by Barb Lee
First Person Plural (2008) – by Deann Borshay Liem
In the Matter of Cha Jung Hee (2010) - by Deann Borshay Liem
Geographies of Kinship (in production) - by Deann Borshay Liem
Voices of Adoption: Korean Adoptee Perspectives (POV) (2000)
Resilience (2009) - by Tammy Chu
Searching for Go-Hyang (1998) – by Tammy Chu
AKA Dan (2014) - by Dan Matthews
Crossing Chasms (1998) – by Jennifer Arndt-Johns
Made in Korea: A One Way Ticket From Seoul To Amsterdam (2006) – by In Soo Radstake
Outside Looking In: Transracial Adoption in America (2002) – by Phil Bertelson
Passing Through (2009) – by Nathan Adolfson
Approved for Adoption (2012) – by Jung Heinin
General Korean Documentaries with Content Relevant to Korean Adoption
Memory of Forgotten War (2013) – by Deann Borshay Liem
Children of the State – Press for Truth (2013)
General Adoption Documentaries
Closure (2013) – by Bryan Tucker
A Girl Like Her (2012) – by Ann Fessler
Paper Orphans (2012) - by Marie Ange-Sylvain
The Triumvirate (2004) – by Jean Strauss
Holding Hands – by Jean Strauss
Adopted: For the Life of Me – by Jean Strauss
Daughter from Danang (2002) – by Gail Dolgin and Vicente Franco
Girl, Adopted (2013) – by Melanie Judd
India: Calcutta Calling (2004) – by Sasha Khokha
Las Hijas (The Daughters) (2007) – by Maria Quiroga
Somewhere Between (2011) – by Linda Goldstein Knowlton
Struggle for Identity (2007) - by Deborah C. Hoard
Unlocking the Heart of Adoption (2002) – by Sheila Ganz
Dramatic Films
Philomena (2013) - by Stephen Frears
A Brand New Life (2009) (Korean film) - by Ounie Lecomte
Ode to My Father (2014) (Korean film) - by Yoon Je-kyoon
Lady Vengeance (2005) (Korean film) - by Park Chan-wook
Rabbit and Lizard (2009) (Korean film) - by Park Chan-wook
