The Invisible Red Thread – The Movie

We’ve had many inquiries since we wrapped production one year ago… When will “The Invisible Red Thread” be broadcast on TV? Now finally we have news for Canadian TV audiences.

As a recap, our 1-hour documentary follows Vivian Lum, a 15 year old Canadian girl who was adopted in North American from China as she travels back to China for the first time. There she discovers her past and compares her life with that of a new friend, a teenage girl adopted within China living a very different existence.

And the film will have its TV premiere broadcast on (drum roll, please)…

OMNI.2 (Ontario)

• April 8. 2012 – English at 9pm
• April 14, 2012 – Mandarin at 9pm

OMNI.Alberta


• April 8. 2012 – English at 9pm

OMNI.BC

• April 8. 2012 – English at 9pm

But if you can’t wait that long, we have two sneak previews coming up:

In Vancouver, high school students can see it as part of  The 7th Annual Vancouver Women in Film Festival, in the Teen Screen section. More details here.

In Toronto, on Saturday, March 17 at 1:30PM, head over to the Richmond Hill Public Library for a special screening, part of their International Women’s Month screening series. The film will be followed by a Skype Q & A period with filmmaker Maureen Marovitch. More info here.

And we’ll be hosting a special screening with Vivian and her family present to answer questions in April in Toronto. More details on that soon!

Dr. Changfu Chang was an invaluable member of our team for “The Invisible Red Thread”. First he located Shumin Zhu, the young adoptee Vivian travelled to meet in China so the two could contrast and compare their adoptive lives. He was also a skillful diplomat with Shumin’s family, helping them see the positive aspects of participating in an international documentary. And the fact that he had directed over a half dozen documentaries about adoption from China, made him the perfect person to manage our filming in China.   So we’re delighted to pass on this great article about Changfu and his important filmmaking work now numbering over a half dozen films related to adoption from China!

Check out Jeff Gammage’s Inquirer article about Changfu Chang’s views on adoption here:http://bit.ly/tsjsDg

We get a lot of questions about when the documentary, The Invisible Red Thread, will finally be broadcast on TV.  The one hour film follows fifteen year old Vivian Lum`s travels back to China to contrast her North American adopted life with that of a teen girl adopted within China. While we don’t yet have an exact broadcast date…we do have narrowed it down the month: Canadians will be able to see the film on Omni TV in March 2012.

For now, the film continues on the festival circuit and will be available for Canadian and international sales on DVD after its March broadcast.

But meanwhile: you can hear an exclusive interview on Radio Canada International with director Maureen Marovitch. Listen in for details about the challenges of making the film, and the impact the filming had on its participants.

The Invisible Red Thread at The Montreal World Film Festival with (left to right) Hubert Lum, Eve Leyerle, Vivian Lum and co-producer Maureen Marovitch

The red carpet is rolled up and the films are back in their cans after 10 days of screenings and events at the 35^th Montreal World Film Festival. But for one family who travelled to see their finished documentary for the first time, the festival was unusually special.

Eve Leyerle and Hubert Lum took a special detour on their way home to Toronto after vacationing in Prince Edward Island. They travelled to the screening of the film about their family’s unique voyage to their adoptive daughter’s homeland. The film, “The Invisible Red Thread” premiered on August 26^th at the Montreal World Film Festival.

“I almost didn’t want to come”, said Vivian. “I didn’t think I wanted to see myself on screen.”

But curiosity about the film won out. “The Invisible Red Thread” documented Vivian’s return to her orphanage and the land of her birth, along with her poignant encounters with a locally adopted girl named Shumin Zhu. Vivian and her parents sat raptly throughout the film, then later were approached by members of the audience to discuss the story and their personal journey.

“It was great. I see Shumin differently now,” said Vivian about the film and the 14 year old Chinese girl she spent time with during her homeland trip. “I understand her and her life even better now.”

“It was fascinating to experience it all over again”, said Hubert, who spent two weeks with Vivian in China.  Eve also was moved by hearing from parents in China who had given away their daughters.

Others wanting to view the film will have the chance later this fall and winter when it premieres on OMNI TV in Canada and is available for home and educational DVD sales. We’ll be posting more info on that as soon as we have it!

For more coverage of the film and the festival:

The Suburban http://bit.ly/pa1i3C

The West End Times http://bit.ly/q9gb2E   

Congratulations to Karen Wright, Laurence Gamble and Louise Adam: They each won a set of tickets to the festival premiere of “The Invisible Red Thread”. But don’t despair if you didn’t win, it’s easy to pick up tickets to our screenings at the Montreal World Film Festival- and as a bonus you’ll also catch the documentary “Tin City Voices”, by Toronto filmmaker Elijah Marchand playing with it!

HOW TO BUY TICKETS ONLINE:  Visit the film’s web page at the Montreal World Film Festival here. You can then click on the “Admission” button to buy your tickets online! On the left hand side you chose Venue Cinema ONF-FFM or use these quick links below

• For the screening August 25 at 16:40 ONF.25.3 FFM
• For the screening August 26 at 12:00 ONF.26.1 FFM
• For the screening August 27 at 21:40 ONF.27.5 FFM

HOW TO BUY TICKETS AT THE BOX OFFICE: You can also buy tickets onsite at the ONF/NFB ticket counter at 1564 St. Denis at the cost of $10 each, right up to the screening times of the film.

Bon cinéma!

Leading up to our premiere at the Montreal World Film Festival, take some time to get to know the person who made it possible for us all to understand!

One film. Two languages. The Invisible Red Thread was filmed over two continents with a ratio of English to Mandarin of about 2:1. A veteran translator with more than 15 years experience Dr. Yawei Cui was given the tricky task of creating two separate versions of The Invisible Red Thread : one for Chinese speaking audiences and another for English viewers.

Dr. Yawei Cui

Translating might seem like a straightforward process, but it’s not as easy as it looks. The script can’t just be translated word for word. There is a limited amount of space and time on screen for subtitles. Consequently, keeping words to a minimum and dealing with sayings that aren’t easily translated pose interesting problems for translators. Having everything fit, make sense, and still tell the same story are elements that Dr.
Cui must always be aware of. Translating is also known as versioning, because, each translation actually creates a different version of the film.

When translating, Dr. Cui begins by reading through the entire script without writing anything. This allows him to get a better understanding of the complete story. Once he
has an idea of how the story unfolds, he begins to translate, while taking careful notes for “those ‘hard-to-understand’ or ‘not-so-sure’ parts,” he says.

Once a first version is done, Dr. Cui then watches the film to make sure that all of
the audio-visual elements make sense with his translation. A final revision and
draft are needed to make sure the translated script is in top shape!

Dr. Cui immigrated to Canada from China in 2000. Having worked as a university
professor as well as a translator and television producer in China, Dr. Cui began his Canadian career as a freelance journalist/documentary filmmaker and translator/interpreter. He says, “Though I, like most of the immigrants, have been living in translation as soon I got here in Canada, I’ve been working in the field of translation for 15 years in total.” He most recently completed doctoral studies in sociology and cultural studies at the University of Toronto and currently works at as manager of translation and interpretation at Canadian Securities Institute.

Dr. Cui has close ties to the issues in this film. As he says, “My generation has actually ‘lived’ in this Family Planning policy.” He’s glad to see someone make an effort to show how personal tragedies are actually socially and politically rooted; “Anything that challenges the social norms gets me excited.”

“It’s a great decision to have a couple of parents, who gave away their daughters, appear in the film. However short they might be there, they powerfully told the audience the ‘why’ behind their ‘action.’ One can no longer blame it merely on personal stupidity or heartlessness.”

You might have heard about the festival premiere of “The Invisible Red Thread”,
in less than two weeks at the Montreal World Film Fest. You might also know
about the story behind the documentary: 15 year old Vivian Lum returning to her
birth land to discover the life she might have had if she’d not been
internationally adopted. Now here’s your chance to win one of four sets of free
tickets!

Just send a note under 100 words to  info@picturethis.ca telling us about your
personal interest in  the film.  Whether you have a family connection to
adoption, an interest in China, or just love seeing documentaries, we’d love to
read about it.  We’ll give tickets to the third, tenth and twentieth writers –
and will announce the winners by noon on Friday August 19th.

Screenings are all at the NFB/ ONF Cinema located at 1564 St Denis, on the corner of De Maisonneuve at these three times:

Thursday, August 25 at 4:40pm
Friday, August 26 at 12:00pm
Saturday, August 27 at 9:40pm

More Information Here!

See you there!