Netflix Releases Trailer for Chinese Adoptee Documentary ‘Found’ (Exclusive)

Amanda Lipitz's film, which follows three adopted American teenagers who discover they are related and embark on a journey to explore their Chinese roots, will be released Oct. 20.

“When you know where you come from, you can find the peace in your heart.”

That’s the thesis behind the upcoming Netflix documentary Found, which follows a trio of three American teenage girls – Chloe, Sadie and Lily – who find each other via the genetic lineage site 23andMe and discover that they are related and, coincidentally, all adopted. With the strength of their newfound bond, they decide to embark on the journey of returning to China – and exploring their origin stories – together.

The film’s director (and Chloe’s aunt), Amanda Lipitz (2017’s Step), reached out to the company My China Roots, which specializes in helping diaspora Chinese find long-lost relatives and trace their genealogical lineage. With the guidance of researcher Liu Hao, whose personal story has given her a deep empathy for China’s adopted daughters, Chloe, Sadie and Lily gain new insight into the circumstances of their early years, revisiting their orphanages and reuniting with the nannies who loved and cared for them.

“Asian American women are an extremely underrepresented group in film and television, and I’m sure that was a motivating factor to them,” said Lipitz of Chloe and her cousins’ decision to participate in the documentary. “It felt like a moment of ‘Let me tell my story. Let me show people that I’m here.'”

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Netflix will release Found on Oct. 20. The film is produced by Lipitz, Kindred Spirit’s Anita Gou (The Farewell, Honey Boy), Seesaw Productions’ Jane Zheng (The Farewell, Dead Pigs), Impact Partners’ Jenny Raskin (On Hostile Ground), Jamie Schutz (Stick Figure Productions) and Artemis Rising Foundation.

Watch the trailer below.