Our documentary, The Invisible Red Thread, will be showing on February 22,  2pm, in Minneapolis at a special screening at the Wellstone Center (179 Robie Street East, Saint Paul, MN.)

Elana Meesun Schuster, MSW, LGSW (photo courtesy of UMN)

Organized by Families with Children Adopted from Asia-Midwest, chapter president Jena Martin chose a unique format: she invited Elana Meesun Schuster, a social worker and counselor with expertise in the adoption community to lead a discussion after the movie for the children and teens in attendance. Ms. Schuster, herself a transracial adoptee, has extensive experience providing support to children and families across the adoption constellation.

The event will start with a screening of our hour-long movie, chronicling the journey of Vivian, a 15 year old adoptee from North America as she returns to China’s southern Jiangxi Province.  There she meets Shumin Zhu, a fourteen-year-old girl who was also abandoned as an infant, but adopted by a couple in China. Vivian and Shumin compare their lives and discover surprising similarities and differences.

Ms. Martin wanted to show The Invisible Red Thread because of the topics it raises. She says culturally relevant and educational content for children 10 years of age and older is more and more difficult to come by. However, she didn’t want to just raise topics like adoption, identity, and belonging without fully discussing them with the young audience. While kids in attendance are given a private forum with Ms. Schuster to discuss issues raised by the film in an open and neutral environment, parents will be encouraged to chat amongst themselves in the outer lobby area. The important factor to Martin and the FCA-Midwest is educating, socializing, and getting the community to share through activities like this one. “I think our kids have a unique journey,” she says, “it’s important to have that support.”

There is a non-refundable minimum donation per family of $7 to offset the costs of the therapist-led discussion. This film is appropriate for ages 10 and up at parental discretion and adults without children in attendance are equally welcome.

For more info about the event or to register: visit http://www.fcamidwest.com/calendar?eventId=793804&EventViewMode=EventDetails

Are you interested in setting up a similar screening in your community? Contact us at info@picturethis.ca