After three years working with a developmentally-delayed child, I picked up my phone to hear a little voice saying, “Mama.” This was Ana’s first word and her foster mother had called me, her Court Appointed Special Advocate, to share the experience. As a CASA volunteer, I’ve spent years working with children, their families and the court system to help find kids a permanent home, good educational opportunities and needed medical and social services. As I heard Ana find her voice, I wondered how, and whether, other foster youth ever truly found theirs. So I decided to answer this question using the tools I knew best, animation and film.
“Family Rewritten” is the third film in a series of films which give foster youth an opportunity to be heard. The film is not just about one foster youth’s determination, it’s created with the help of foster youth themselves. These young adults worked behind the scenes as writers, camera operators, production assistants and producers; they helped make the film an authentic depiction of one young woman’s foster care experience.
Over the years we’ve captured numerous stories from foster youth and these themes of strength and perseverance can be seen not just throughout Camilla’s story, but within the stories of all the youth who, due to no fault of their own, have gone through the child welfare system. Learn more about the film series and check out trailers for our other films “Feeling Wanted,” “My Identity” and “For A Better Life, ” at www.fostercarefilm.com.
Website: www.fostercarefilm.com/
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