Posts Tagged ‘Stuck documentary’

It’s here! The documentary “Stuck”

Wednesday, February 13th, 2013

The long-awaited documentary Stuck, produced by adoptive dad and Both Ends Burning founder Craig Juntunen, is now in theaters across the US in limited screenings. Previously, I wrote about Stuck and Craig Juntunen here and here.

What I love about the movie is that Craig put faces and personal stories to the abtract idea of “children without families, somewhere out there in the world.” I thought I couldn’t cry anymore about adoption, but after watching the film trailer, I know now that I can.

In previous posts, I’ve lamented the lack of leadership in international adoption, and how, among our elected officials, no one seems to be leading the charge. May I please amend that statement? Senator Mary Landrieu advocates for adoption non-stop. She is everywhere, all the time. Certainly in Craig’s film,  but also Skyped into a broadcast I watched recently on Guatemala television, lobbying in Congress, at conferences, and on the ground in countries where adoptive parents continue to wait for their cases to untangle from miles of red tape while their hoped-for children grow up without them. I’m sure I speak for thousands of others when I say “Thank you, Senator Landrieu.”

Last summer, in the days leading toward the fifth anniversary of adoptions being closed in Guatemala, I was so demoralized thinking about the unresolved cases, and the future of the children who live in institutional care, that I despaired of ever seeing change being made. Craig Juntunen’s movie gives me  hope.

Please watch the trailer, share with friends, and check the film’s itinerary. Craig and his team are embarking on a cross-country bus tour, and seek volunteers to help promote the film along the way. Details are on the website.

Onward. ~

ShareThis

New documentary about international adoption aptly titled “Stuck”

Thursday, August 2nd, 2012

A new documentary about international adoption, Stuck, will premiere at Michael Moore’s Traverse City Film Festival on August 3 and be released nationwide in November. The film is produced by Craig Juntunen, adoptive father and founder of the Both Ends Burning Foundation. The Christian Post reports:

The purpose of the film is to “get the word out” and expose the issue of the troubled international adoption system, Juntunen told the Christian Post. Juntunen noted how other recent documentaries have been successful at bringing awareness to issues, such as “An Inconvenient Truth” and “Waiting for Superman.”
***
Seven out of 10 Americans believe that inter-country adoption is on the rise, Juntunen said, when, in fact, the numbers have dropped dramatically. International adoptions to the United States have dropped 60 percent since 2004, going from 22,991 to only 9,319 in 2011.

The film points to many culprits that explain the decline, including the U.S. State Department, UNICEF, a United Nations agency designed to help children, and the Hague Treaty. The Hague Treaty was begun by the United Nations to bring transparency, clarity and coordination to the inter-country adoption process. [Senator Mary] Landrieu introduced the bill that brought the United States into the treaty, but expressed regret in the film after seeing the results.

Kudos to Craig Juntunen for getting this film made. Here’s to hoping it makes an impact in adoption reform.

ShareThis