Charlotte Lagarde
film and visual art
IN THE MATTER OF CHA JUNG HEE
Producer
a film by Deann Borshay Liem
documentary film - 57:00 - 2010
broadcast on PBS/POV, 2010 - Available on DVD and streaming
DESCRIPTION
Her passport said she was Cha Jung Hee. She knew she was not. So began a 40-year deception for a Korean adoptee who came to the US in 1966. Told to keep her true identity a secret from her new American family, this eight-year-old girl quickly forgot she was ever anyone else. But why had her identity been switched? And who was the real Cha Jung Hee? IN THE MATTER OF CHA JUNG HEE is the search to find the answers. It follows acclaimed filmmaker Deann Borshay Liem as she returns to her native Korea to find her “double,” the mysterious girl whose place she took in America. Traversing the landscapes of memory, amnesia and identity, while also uncovering layers of deception in her adoption, this moving and provocative film probes the ethics of international adoptions and reveals the cost of living a lie. Part mystery, part personal odyssey, it raises fundamental questions about who we are…and who we could be but for the hands of fate.
PRESS
"Haunting and personal..Liem crafts a compelling tale of misplaced identities."
- The Daily Californian
"A fascinating window into the world of international and transracial adoption."
- Hyphen Magazine
"... a masterful, moving and cathartic documentary."
- Cinesource
AWARDS
Audience Award, Best Documentary
San Francisco International Asian American Film Festival
Official Selection
Full Frame Documentary Film Festival
Special Jury Award, Best Director
Los Angeles Asian Pacific Film Festival
Special Jury Award, Best Editing
Los Angeles Asian Pacific Film Festival
FUNDING
Independent Television Service with funding provided by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting
Center for Asian American Media
Katahdin Productions
National Endowment for the Arts
Rockefeller Film/Video Fellowship
American Documentary/P.O.V.
Sundance Institute Documentary Program