Parent Preparation Materials

Las Hijas Questions for Pre-Adoptive Families

Your Name:

Your Email:

1. The film has many themes, among them
• Identity Development (Racial identity, cultural identity, ethnic…)
• Loss and Grief
• Birthsearch and Reunion

After watching the film, which of these themes resonates most with you and why?

2. There is a noticeable lack of men and men’s “voices” in this film. Which male “voice” would you most likely to “hear” and what would you hope to learn?

[Note: Laura mentioned in a post-production interview that she very much wished the film had included the reunion she had with her birthfather, as well as an expanded discussion of birthfathers. Laura notes that she, Kris and Tanya do not have their adoptive fathers in their lives.]

3. Laura and her twin sister have different feelings regarding Colombian culture and the desire to search for birthfamily. What does the difference between these sisters make you think?

4. The young women in the film were raised in an era when adoptive families were not encouraged to celebrate birth culture or identity. What effect, positive or negative, did this approach have on these women?

5. Regarding Birthsearch and Reunion:

a. What motivations for searching are mentioned in the film?

b. Given the different results of Laura’s and Kris’s searches, what does it make you think about a “right” age for an adoptee to search for birthparents?

6. Kris and Tanya both described painful feelings regarding their skin color when they were growing up. How might a parent help with these feelings?

7. As you begin your life as an adoptive parent, will you do anything differently as a result of seeing this film?