The Journey Home

A Romanian Adoption

Tuesday, September 01, 2015

The Journey Home follows an adoptive family’s return to Romania ten years after the fall of Ceaucescu.

When television brought the horrors of the Romanian orphanages into Western living rooms in the winter of 1990, the plight of the orphans moved viewers around the world as few stories ever have. But today, the media have moved on to other subjects, and many of the relief organizations have also departed. It’s been ten years since the fall of Ceaucescu, but much of the dictator’s legacy remains. What has happened to the orphans? 

The central character in this story is Alexandra — an eleven-year-old Romanian girl who was adopted by a Canadian family at the age of three. Sandi and Al, Alexandra’s parents, feel it is time for her daughter to make the journey to meet her birthparents and discover her roots. The film follows Alexandra and her adoptive family as they travel from Bucharest across the country to Hunedoara, the village where Alexandra was born.

Along the way, we visit an orphanage for babies and others for boys and for girls, and see how they are run today. We also meet other characters like Romica, an orphanage runaway who lives in the Brasov train station; Sandra, a thirteen-year-old “orphan” who visits with her mother twice a month; and Claudiu, director of Forget-Me-Not, a small group that helps kids otherwise destined for prostitution and the streets. In one of the most heartbreaking scenes ever to be filmed, we see three-year-old Nicolai as his parents abandon him to a state-run orphanage. Finally, Alexandra and her family arrive in Hunedoara, and we witness the extraordinary reunion between her and her birth family.

The Journey Home: A Romanian Adoption is a tender, gut-wrenching 60-minute documentary by international award-winning director Abbey Neidik. Neidik addresses the question one must ask when faced with the inhuman tragedy created by Ceaucescu’s reproductive policies. What has happened to these forgotten children, brought into this world without love?

Adoption Information

For information about Romanian and international adoption, please visit:

Association des Parents Adoptifs
des Enfants Roumains
Liliana Tommasini
Tel.: (450) 688-0341

Film information

Genre	Documentary
Released	2000
Duration	43 min.
Production	DLI Productions
Produced by	Irene Lilienheim Angelico, Abbey Jack Neidik
Directed by	Abbey Jack Neidik
Written by	Irene Lilienheim Angelico, Howard Goldberg
Director of photography	Marc Gadoury
Edited by	Howard Goldberg

Tags: adoption, Ceausescu, Roma, Romanian adoption

Movie clips

Photo gallery

Screenings
Testimonials
Credits
Extras

Broadcasts

CBC (Canada 1998), VRT (Belgium 1992), DEC (Canada 1988), YLE 2 (Finland 1990), SVT (Sweden 1990)

Dear Abbey and Irene,

From my heart I would like to thank you for your work and efforts on The Journey Home. Haley and I were both profoundly moved by the film. I think about different scenes and words said many times each day. Knowing both sides very well, I can honestly say for the children’s sake I believe you “captured it”. The story you told hasn’t been told yet. Other documentaries have told us about Romania and the orphans. In your film they told us themselves.

Personally I thought you exercised sensitivity but also showed a reality that cannot be denied. Footage was blended logically and provided good background to supplement Alexandra’s “journey”. Haley and I shared tears and silence as we felt what had been filmed. Most important though is that the children’s lives, feelings and emotions were captured. How do you do this for a cross section of ages and reflect the situation of a whole country that has developed over decades? I wondered this about your project. You have great talent but I think it is your hearts more than anything that enabled you to so aptly do this. Thank you, from us, but far more so from the children of Romania. From the children of our orphanage (we now have 5). From our daughter.

We will be in touch in the next days. I am headed back to Romania this next Sunday.

Kindest Regards,
Peter and Haley Mrazik

Hi Irene,

I am resending you the email I sent on Thursday. I have had many inquiries about buying the video since then and many comments (most positive). Though people did mention how sad it was to see Nicolai being abandoned that way, no one asked about adopting him.

Dear Irene and Abbey,

Tonight I watched the “Journey Home” with both my daughters. After watching the screening on Tuesday, I had decided not to let them watch it as I thought it would be too emotional for them. This evening my oldest daughter Camelia told me she wanted to watch it because that could be her story in a few years. Something Abbey told me Tuesday night came to mind – you have to face things in life in order to move on – so I let her. We sat together hand in hand and cried at the end (my little one fell asleep – her only comment was that the beds at her orphanage were higher and she didn’t have any stuffed animals to sleep with). I asked Camelia if she is ready to take the same journey as Alexandra and she said that maybe in a few years. Right now she will be too busy getting ready for high school and entering a new phase of her life. She didn’t look upset at all. I told her I found her to be courageous and wise for her young age. I don’t know whether tomorrow, next week, or in a month from now, it will all come back to her and she will react differently, but for now she seems happy with whom she is and where she is.

Mrs. Simard of the l’Agence Quebecoise D’Adoption Internationale in Quebec City called me to say she has had very positive feedback from parents who watched the film. She told me to extend her congratulations to you both. It is the first time she saw a documentary on Romanian adoptions that was not negative. I also had comments from several parents who saw the film as being positive and gave them a preview of what could happen in their families as well. I have been referring parents who wish to purchase a video to your website and gave them you phone number as well.

I had comments from Romanians that I know who told me that this was not about Romanians but about gypsies. This seems to be quite an issue in Romania. As I recall, a young Romanian woman made similar comments on Tuesday after the screening. My response to these comments were that this film was about an adopted girl going back to meet her birthparents. This story could have taken place in any country.

…Again, I thank you for making this realistic film. I am positive it will help many adoptive families who will be facing this situation in the future (it certainly helped us put things in perspective).

Claudine & I both thank you for including our names in the credits at the end of the film. What a surprise that was! I guess we didn’t notice on Tuesday as we were too busy wiping the tears. I will keep you up to date with the comments as we receive them.

Best regards,
Liliana

DLI Productions

Documentary film production in Montreal