Our short film, Side by Side: Out of a South Korean Orphanage and Into the World, serves as a powerful introduction to adoptee voices speaking about the challenges of inter-country and transracial adoption.

For students and educators requiring a deeper examination, the Side by Side Project is offering a more specialized, in-depth presentation.

Stories Adoptees Rarely Tell is a live film screening and discussion designed specifically for students and educators in social work, mental health, adoption studies, and related fields. Led by filmmaker and adoptee Glenn Morey, this presentation invites participants into a candid, often unspoken dimension of the adoptee experience—one that is too often left out of textbooks and case studies.

Recently presented to the Pitt Adoption Community for Education (PACE) at the University of Pittsburgh, this session is now available to other universities and student groups seeking to deepen their understanding of intercountry and transracial adoption.

This live presentation is ideal for video conferencing, classrooms, and study groups.

During this presentation, we’ll discuss:

The application of the Side by Side Project in clinical work: Tangible examples of the complex and nuanced terrain of adoptee life experiences and feelings, especially closely held and rarely revealed feelings of fear, shame, anger, alienation, and other challenges.

A special compilation of filmed excerpts focused on the “Stories Adoptees Rarely Tell”: A revealing examination of shame and self-loathing, grief, pre- and post-adoption trauma, persistent sadness and despair, requirements of gratitude, secret childhood memories, family detachment and distancing, self-harm and attempted suicide, disturbing adoption file information, search and reunion.

Qualitative insights from adoptees: A uniquely deep resource of 100 full-length interviews and 12 short films, all free and open access, or upon request. Learn more about our qualitative resources

The power of adoptee experiences in film: Assets and exercises for learning and clinical work.

Bring this presentation to your campus

The Side by Side Project has presented to Rudd Adoption Research at UMass/Amherst, Alliance for the Study of Adoption & Culture (ASAC), Association for Asian American Studies (AAAS), Pitt Adoption Community for Education (PACE) at the University of Pittsburgh. Our resources have been used in a broad range of scholarly research, papers, and dissertations.

Let us help you bring adoptees voices into your learning and classroom experiences.

Contact: Email gm@glennmorey.com to learn more.