Health & Fitness
“Wo Ai Ni (I Love You) Mommy" Screens as Port Jeff Doc Series Continues
The Port Jefferson Documentary Series showed Wo Ai Ni (I Love You) on Oct. 17 at the Wang Center in Stony Brook University.
On Monday, Oct. 17, the Port Jefferson Documentary Film Series showed Wo Ai Ni (I Love You) Mommy, which won the Sterling Award for best U.S. Feature at the AFI-Discovery Channel Silverdoc Documntary Festival in June
I found the movie enjoyable and educational with a lot of insight into the views of those from two cultures coming together. One point that stood out was that there is no attempt by Donna Sadowsky to eradicate her adoptive daughters’ Fang Sui Yong’s culture. Instead Donna and her family embraced the culture of her new daughter, enriching all. For example, although Fang Sui Yong, known as Faith, attends a Chinese school on Long Island, she seems well integrated into being a Long Island teen. A win-win and a good example for us all.
Earlier, I asked Lorie Rothstein who shepherded the movie for the Documentary Series to talk a bit about the movie.
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“What is it like to be torn from your Chinese foster family, put on a plane with strangers and wake up in a new country, family and culture?" Lorie said. "Stephanie Wang-Breal’s Wo Ai Ni (I Love You) Mommy is the story of Fang Sui Yong, an 8-year-old orphan, and the Sadowskys, the Long Island Jewish family that travels to China to adopt her.
“Sui Yong is one of 70,000 Chinese children now being raised in the United States. Through her eyes, we witness her struggle with a new identity as she transforms from a timid child into someone that no one — neither her new family nor she — could have imagined”
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"Our guest speaker tonight is Donna, the Long Island wife and mother whose adoption of a nine-year-old Fang Sui Yong from China is followed in the film," Lorie said. "Donna and her husband Jeff have four children, Jason who is 19, Jarred who is 16, Darah who was adopted at 14 months from China and is now 7 years old and of course Faith who is now 12."
“Donna continues to be a strong advocate for older child adoptions and remains active with the Long Island Chapter of Families with Children from China," she said. "She also volunteers her time to Sunshine Golden Retriever Rescue doing home visits for potential adoptive families on Long Island."
