HOMESICK
Demark, Korea | Film 90min, TV 60min | 4K | Color
Logline
HOMESICK delves into the lived experience of an adoptee from Korea, growing up in a dysfunctional Danish family.
Synopsis
“Is there really a place I can call home?" Shortly after her birth, Tanja was adopted into a dysfunctional family in Denmark.
She has long questioned why she was adopted and sought the truth about her origins. As an adult, Tanja uncovers that her adoption papers were forged and that the entire adoption process was illegal. Despite her determined efforts, meeting her birth mother remains elusive.
Set against the contrasting landscapes of Denmark’s vast plains and Korea’s rugged mountains, HOMESICK is a poetic documentary exploring the complexities of adoptee identity, belonging, and the quest for self-discovery through Tanja’s deeply personal journey.
Director's Statement
HOMESICK offers an intimate and critical exploration of the ongoing truth-seeking process surrounding transnational adoption through the eyes of Tanja, both director and adoptee. The film challenges the widely held Western myth of “saving orphans” and questions the unquestioned faith in transnational adoption within Korean society. Through Tanja’s personal journey, it reveals the complex, multifaceted realities of adoptee identity. By doing so, HOMESICK seeks to deepen public understanding and broaden the conversation around the social and historical issues embedded in transnational adoption.
Director Tanja Inwol SØRENSEN
Tanja In Wol Sørensen is a visual anthropologist and documentary filmmaker, born in Incheon, Korea, and based in Copenhagen, Denmark. She directed the award-winning feature documentary A Colombian Family (2020), which premiered at CPH:DOX and received an Honourable Mention for Emerging International Filmmaker at Hot Docs Canadian International Documentary Festival 2020. Her work explores themes at the intersection of political conflict, gender, and family dynamics.
Producer Rikke Tambo ANDERSEN
Tambo film a Copenhagen-based production company founded by Rikke Tambo Andersen, producing fictional, documentary and hybrid films. Since 2017, Tambo film is endeavouring on innovative storytelling which crosses various genres and films, discovering talents around the world.
Producer Jo Sona
Jo Sona has worked as a documentary producer on various projects. Her recent work, Free Chol Soo Lee (2022), won the Emmy Award for Outstanding Historical Documentary.