Adoption, Documentaries, Family, Film, Mixed Race

Relative Strangers

by Editorial Staff | Oct 20, 2026

Work in progress · Documentary

Deann Borshay Liem · Director / producer

Mixed-race Korean adoptees trace original families through DNA, records and journeys shaped by the aftermath of the Korean War.

Deann Borshay Liem follows mixed-race Korean adoptees sent to American and European families after the Korean War. Their searches revisit adoption agencies, orphanages and military camptowns, revealing connections among war, racial discrimination, family separation and adoption. Mu Films describes family connections reaching across African American, Vietnamese Amerasian and Black German communities.

Relative Strangers remains a work in progress. The filmmaker’s fundraising campaign sets a goal of completing the film by December 2027 and premiering at a festival in 2028. These are production goals; an exact release date and general viewing availability are not confirmed. Status checked October 27, 2026.

Connected families: Korea, Germany and Vietnam

Mu Films describes DNA discoveries linking Korean adoptees with African American, Vietnamese Amerasian and Black German relatives. In BGHRA’s 2022 conversation, Liem describes Lisa Jackson’s discovery of a Vietnamese half-brother and a Black German half-sister, whose shared father served in Korea, Germany and Vietnam.

1:20:18–1:24:03 — Deann Borshay Liem on a Korean, Vietnamese and Black German sibling connection. Watch the BGHRA conversation with Deann Borshay Liem and Kori Graves (March 14, 2022).

The project follows six mixed-race Korean adoptees. In an October 7, 2026 interview, Liem explains that their searches also challenge assumptions about their Korean mothers: not all women in relationships with servicemen worked in the sex industry, and some mothers wanted to keep their children.

Family connections, recognition and redress · Related community resources and BGHRA recordings