Wednesday, October 15, 2014
Talking About ReMoved Part 2 - an Interview with Christina Matanick
I recently had a chance to catch up with Christina Matanick, the writer of ReMoved.
Addison: what's your own connection to foster care and
adoption?
Christina: My husband and I have always considered adoption,
and when we started exploring the possibilities, someone told us about adoption
from foster care. We signed up to learn more at foster parent trainings and
began to understand that the need goes beyond just adoption and into journeying
with kids in foster care regardless of their court process being an adoptive or
reunification situation. It broke our hearts to imagine our own children being
moved from home to home, separated from each other, and feeling so unloved and
unwanted.
At the time of these initial trainings, our social worker
(an amazing woman named Chris Poynter) was trying to help our class understand
foster care from the child's point of view. It's so easy to look at life from
our own perspective--the challenges and sacrifices we would make in order to
open our home to someone else's child--and so difficult to move from our own
perspective into seeing something through another person's experience. Chris
showed us a slideshow of quotes a kid in foster care might say, if they were
able to articulate their emotions. It was heartbreakingly sad.
After that little slideshow, Nathanael and I looked at each
other and said, "We should make this into a film." At the time, we
had already signed up for a short film speedmaking competition, so we decided
to make the topic of foster care our subject matter. From there, I did a lot
more research on understanding the foster care experience through a child's
perspective, Nathanael assembled an amazing team of people to come on board
with the project, and then we wrote, shot, and edited the actual film within
the film competition's parameters.
Addison: What has been your most cherished feedback from the
film?
Christina: All the feedback from foster alum. Also from
foster parents (and people who are NOW foster parents because of ReMoved).
That's been extraordinary. But definitely the most cherished feedback is all
the foster alum (and current youth too) who have written us saying "Thank
you," that ReMoved tells their story and articulates their emotion in a
way that nothing else ever has. That is simply mind-blowing and overwhelming in
such an amazing way. We are so blessed to be a part of that.
Addison: What are your hopes for Part 2, and, a year from
now, what do you hope it will have accomplished?
Christina: We hope it's an extraordinary piece of art.
Better than the first one. And that it reaches and touches more people than
part one. We hope that it will play even a small role in breaking the cycle of
abuse and neglect that continues to perpetuate itself in our nation and our
world. We hope less kids will have to experience this story, that more people
will get involved, and that it will inspire and challenge people to love one
another better.
Addison: How can people support the film now?
Christina: There's still time to be part of the team that is
making ReMoved Part Two happen! You can visit our kickstarter campaign at
www.removedfilm.com but time is running out to get your name in the credits or
pick out some awesome reward.
Addison: How can people support the film once it's released?
Christina: Share it! Send it to your friends, do something
about this issue--don't just watch it and remain unmoved. This really is an
organic movement because of ordinary people.
Thanks to Christina for her time, and to everyone involved
with ReMoved for making such a powerful, valuable picture of life in foster
care. For the next twenty hours, you can become part of the project by clicking
here.
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