Millersville professor focuses his lens on issues of Chinese adoption

"I have to give him a lot of respect for forging that area of 'Let's really find out,' " said Deborah Johnson, a Korean adoptee who heads Kindred Journeys International, a heritage travel firm in Minneapolis. "It's not just this blanket one-child policy. It's much more complex."

Last summer, before Susan Morgan traveled from Ambler to Jiangxi province with her eldest daughter, she made sure that Anna, 14, and her sister, Mary Ruth, 13, saw Chang's latest films, Sofia's Journey and Daughters' Return.

Both girls want answers about their Chinese parents, Morgan said. The films "helped educate us about some of the emotional hurdles" of searching and "helped me realize how elusive the truth can be."

Chang's next movie will tell the story of an adopted girl who at 18 goes to live with her birth family in China, confronting new relationships with kin who are essentially strangers. He expects Ricki's Promise to debut next fall. He's not sure what might follow, but knows there is another film ahead.

"Some people might say the Chinese adoption program is dying out," Chang said. "That doesn't mean the needs aren't there."

Contact staff writer Jeff Gammage at 215-854-2415, jgammage@phillynews.com.