Korean Adoptee Films Pain of Mother-Child Separations
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Raw and unsettling documentary on single mothers Korean adoptee fi lms pain of mother-child separations SEOUL, South Korea, June 14, (AP): Bringing her camera to a home her Korean mother, who at 19 gave away Englestoft when she was a think that I would like to reverse that,” Engelstoft said. for unwed mothers on South Korea’s Jeju island, Sun Hee Engelstoft newborn. “ The fi lm then follows young mothers at Aeseowon, whose faces and anticipated an empowering story about young women keeping their More than 6,400 Korean children were sent abroad in 1982, the year voices are obscured for privacy. They do chores, share stories about babies. Engelstoft arrived in Denmark. In all, about 200,000 South Koreans bad boyfriends and the pain of childbirth, coo over ultrasound pictures Instead, she ended up with a raw and unsettling documentary were adopted overseas during the past six decades, mainly to white and giggle throughout a pregnancy photoshoot. about how a deeply conservative sexual culture, loose birth regis- parents in America and Europe. They seem at times like any other teens. But their lives are clouded tration laws and a largely privatized adoption system continue to “Forget Me Not,” shot at Jeju’s Aeseowon shelter in 2013 and 2014, by debates on whether to keep their babies or place them for adoption, pressure and shame single mothers into relinquishing their children opens with the facility’s director reading Engelstoft a document signed a decision that’s never truly theirs. for adoption. by her birth mother. It shows that Engelstoft was relinquished on the After insisting on keeping her child for months, a 17-year-old emo- The shock and grief of mother-child separations and intense fear of same day she was born and that her mother pledged never to look for tionally breaks down after giving in to her parents, who see the baby as social stigma captured in “Forget Me Not” offer insight into what’s her. a disgraceful mark of premarital sex. As soon her mother pressures her preventing thousands of Korean adoptees from reconnecting with their The paper had been kept at an orphanage in Busan city where En- into signing an adoption consent form, workers from Holt whisk her silenced birth mothers, decades after they were fl own to the West. gelstoft stayed before her adoption agency, Holt Children’s Services, child to Jeju’s airport. Adoptees, including Engelstoft, have also blamed these disconnec- matched her with Danish parents. Another 17-year-old toils in depression after her parents exploit the Film tions on limited access to records, falsifi ed documents that hide their Engelstoft believes her mother was one of many women who were country’s loose birth registration system, which is easily manipulated true origins and a lack of accountability shown by adoption agencies asked by adoption agencies to sign relinquishment forms even before because it doesn’t require newborns to be automatically registered at and South Korea’s government. their children were born. Holt denies this, saying it took Engelstoft hospitals, to list her child as their own. “Every time I started following a woman (at the home), they strongly from the orphanage, not her mother. “How did I become a sibling?” she asks while roaming aimlessly in told me that they wanted to keep their child, and that’s just not what Children were frequently listed as abandoned or orphaned, despite streets. “That’s my baby.” happened,” Engelstoft said in a recent interview with The Associated the presence of known relatives, which made them easily adoptable When a 16-year-old wails in an empty room after giving away her Press. “I was completely horrifi ed at the result.” and their roots often untraceable. child to adoptive parents at a parking lot, Engelstoft puts down the “Forget Me Not,” which was released in South Korean theaters this “I feel deeply uncomfortable by having been bought and sold, sold camera to hold her. month, started out as the fi lmmaker’s personal attempt to understand by an adoption agency and my adoptive parents paying for me, and I “That moment was sort of like a breaking point for me,” she said. Variety s e r u t a This image released by Warner Bros Picures shows Anthony Ramos, (foreground left), and Melissa Barrera in a scene from ‘In the Heights.’ (AP) e Film Chu’s fi lm depicts a beautiful collage of people NEW YORK: Just when a party F Features was poised to break out in movie theaters, the below-expectation debut of “In the Heights” damp- ened Hollywood’s hopes of a ‘Heights’ lifts hopes for Latino fi lms swift or smooth recovery at the summer box offi ce. NEW YORK, June 14, (AP): Color. Dance. Music. Latin content!’ They didn’t know what to do with it. some lessons from them. But where is our ‘Moon- Jon M. Chu’s exuberant Joy. An all Latino cast! “They weren’t rejecting my ability, there were re- light’? Why are we not advancing?” adaptation of Lin-Manuel The hype for “In the Heights” has brought great jecting my culture.” Nevertheless, Leguizamo says he’s seen an impor- Miranda’s Broadway musical opened with a modest $11.4 expectation for Latinos in the United States, a group About 60.6 million Hispanics live in the United tant change during the COVID-19 pandemic and with million, according to studio that’s been historically underrepresented and widely States, the Census Bureau estimates. And many are the rise of the Black Lives Matter movement. estimates Sunday. Forecasts had typecast in films. And with upcoming titles like “Cin- devoted filmgoers: Latinos have consistently led the “The studios woke up,” says Leguizamo, who is ranged from $15-$20 million. derella” with Cuban-American singer Camila Cabel- box office, reaching 29% of tickets sold, according to now in talks to direct a few projects, including one The release of “In the Heights” lo, “The Hitman’s Wife’s Bodyguard” with Mexican the latest Motion Picture Association report on the- he’s written. “I think everybody is making moves to — a lavish song-and-dance star Salma Hayek and Steven Spielberg’s revival of atergoers. change into being inclusive. I see it from small pro- musical accompanied by glow- “West Side Story,” this seems to be just the beginning Yet they only represent 4.5% of all speaking or named ducers, directors in their offices, in their casting. I see ing reviews from critic s and of a string of productions that place Latinos front and characters and a mere 3% of lead or co-lead actors, a it at Viacom. I see it at Univision. I see it at Netflix. I considered a milestone movie for center. 2019 study of 1,200 popular movies from 2007 to 2018 see it everywhere!” Latinos — was widely seen as a “In the Heights,” which opened Friday, is director by the Annenberg Inclusion Initiative found. Audiences will too, starting this summer with re- cultural event. Jon M. Chu’s adaptation of the Tony-award winning leases like Everardo Gout’s “The Forever Purge” with On opening weekend, though, Awards recognition, too, has been elusive. This TUESDAY, JUNE 15, 2021 the Warner Bros release nar- musical by Lin-Manuel Miranda and Quiara Alegría year’s Oscars featured a diverse slate of nominees, Ana de la Reguera (both Mexican); M. Night Shya- rowly missed the top spot. Hudes about the hopes and struggles of residents of but no Latino performers. malan’s “OLD,” with Mexican actor Gael García Ber- New York City’s Washington Heights. Many hope it nal and Steven Soderbergh’s “No Sudden Move” with Instead, “A Quiet Place Part II” Success edged it with $11.7 million in marks a new beginning on the big screen for the larg- del Toro. its third weekend of release. On est minority group in the country - one that mirrors Since Rita Moreno became the first Latina to win Spielberg’s “West Side Story,” set for December Friday, John Krasinski’s thriller shifts that have already happened for Black and Asian best supporting actress award in 1962 as Anita in 10, includes a Latino cast this time. Many “Puerto — playing only in theaters — actors and creators. “West Side Story” only one other Latino has won: Ricans” in the original were white actors in brown became the fi rst fi lm of the “You have this beautiful collage of people in the Puerto Rican Benicio del Toro for his supporting makeup and, although widely successful, the 1961 pandemic to reach $100 million community,” says Jimmy Smits, who plays Kevin role 2000’s “Traffic.” Before them, Puerto Rican movie was also criticized for stereotypical portrayals domestically. Its cumulative total Rosario, a single father and the owner a taxi cab ser- José Ferrer became the first Latino actor to receive an of Latinos. is $109 million. vice, in “In the Heights.” “It’s the immigrant experi- Academy Award for his leading role in “Cyrano de Anthony Ramos, who leads “In the Heights” as Us- Sony’s “Peter Rabbit 2: The Runaway,” a fi lm originally ence that’s been part of the fabric of this country since Bergerac” in 1951, and Mexican-born Anthony Quinn navi, the character originally played by Miranda on the planned to open around Easter it started. And it’s positive. So we need that right now got two supporting actor statues for “Viva Zapata!” stage, says that “now is an incredible, beautiful moment 2020, also opened softly, debut- after the pandemic.” (1953) and “Lust for Life” (1957).