Sofia's Journey/A Daughter's Return

A riveting look at the complicated, heart-rending world of international adoption.

Since the 1990’s, over 100,000 Chinese children have been adopted into Western families. Other than a few lines about their finding places, these children know nothing about their biological families. Yet as they come of age, many adoptees seek answers to the universal questions of who they are and where they came from.

The exhaustive pursuit of birth families is a profound journey fraught with conflicting emotions for both adoptees and their families on both sides. This reality is strikingly captured in the two latest films by Dr. Changfu Chang, a university professor and filmmaker who has devoted the last 10 years to documenting the stories of Chinese children on their quests to find their birth parents.

SOFIA’S JOURNEY tells how, in 2008, Grand Junction teenager and Chinese adoptee, Sofia Robinson, began searching for her birth parents by returning to China with her sisters and adoptive parents, Peter and Marilyn Robinson. Sofia’s quest, filmed over three years and two continents, is a heart-rending exploration of minds, choices and cultural differences.

“The film was absolutely riveting, emotion-filled, and had the audience engrossed in the lives of the Robinson family through the highs and lows of searching for their middle daughter's birth parents.” -- Susan Morgan, Adoptive Parent

DAUGHTER’S RETURN documents the unique experiences of two girls -– Eline from the Netherlands and Ricki from the United States -– who reunite with their birth parents in China and reconnect with their roots. For children adopted internationally, their experiences remain extremely unusual. So far, only a few dozen adopted Chinese children are known to have found and reunited with their biological families.

“Immediately I love the detail the viewer learns about the way children were lost or why they were abandoned…People are complicated, relationships are complicated. Feelings are deep.” -- Kay Johnson, Scholar and Adoptive Parent

In the skilled hands of writer/director/producer Dr. Chang, both films approach the delicate and manifold issues at the heart of each story with a beauty and sensitivity that accurately depicts the dichotomous experiences of all persons involved.

Dubbed “the professor of adoption films,” Dr. Chang has dedicated the last ten years to writing, producing and directing eight groundbreaking and acclaimed documentaries on this complex subject matter.

In addition to filmmaking, Dr. Chang is employed as a professor at Millersville University of Pennsylvania in the areas of television production and mass media Prior to arrival in the United States in 1995, Dr. Chang worked as journalist and magazine editor in his native China.

Dr. Chang’s work has garnered both national and international attention: The Los Angeles Times and The Chicago Tribune published articles that interviewed him and introduced his work and a 45-minute documentary film featuring Dr. Chang and his work was produced by China’s Jiangsu Educational Television and aired in November of 2009.

Dr. Chang is scheduled to attend ReelTime’s screening of A DAUGHTER’S RETURN and SOFIA’S JOURNEY.

ReelTime @ The Radio Room will present both films on Saturday, April 9, starting at 2 pm in the KAFM Radio at 1310 Ute Ave. in Grand Junction.

Approximate running time for both films is 95 minutes with a 15-minute intermission. Dr. Chang will accommodate a Q&A session following both presentations.

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