An Indian immigrant mother helps her adopted twin daughters reconnect with their White birth mother and estranged Native American father, exposing raw class divides while transforming their understanding of identity and belonging. This deeply personal film draws from the director’s own journey to adopt. Blending observation and reflection, it explores open adoption and the ongoing effort to build genuine connections between children, birth parents, and adoptive families across race, class, and geography.

This film is a part of our Cucalorus Conversations program, which brings fresh new voices to the stage for post-screening discussions that focus on community issues like racial history, Indigenous culture, access to health care, and community building. Humanities experts join the filmmaker after the screening for extended dialogue.

-Director, Chithra Jeyaram

-Birth Mother, Brandy Denise Stein

-UNCW Asian Heritage Cultural Center Coordinator, Dr. Udaanjargal Chuluunbaatar

-Cucalorus Programming Manager, Alex Toribio

Cucalorus Conversations is supported in part by North Carolina Humanities, the state affiliate of the National Endowment for the Humanites, www.nchumanities.org

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