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TOUGH LOVE chronicles
the lives of two parents, Hannah from New York City and Patrick from
Seattle, who have been separated from their children by the state.
Through vérité-style footage and exclusive access inside the child
welfare courts, TOUGH LOVE captures an intimate, firsthand
account of these parents' triumphs and struggles as they confront their
past mistakes and attempt to prove to the system that they deserve a
second chance to be parents. Throughout the film we will also hear from
the foster parents who take care of these children, the judges who
oversee these cases and the child welfare experts who have a clear
understanding of how this complex system works.
~~A NOTE FROM THE FILMMAKER~~
Hi, my name is Stephanie Wang-Breal. Thank you for visiting my Kickstarter page for my new film, TOUGH LOVE. You may know me from my last film WO AI NI MOMMY
a story about International Chinese adoption. Working
on that film was an amazing experience. Along the way we won multiple
awards, were nominated for an Emmy and met an amazing community of
people. This community urged me to look more closely into our nation's
child welfare system. After doing some research, I became inspired me to
make this new documentary, TOUGH LOVE.
When I first
began working on this film 2.5 years ago, I was surprised to learn that
over 90% of parents lose custody of their children to the foster care
system for neglectful incidents relating
to treatable issues: insufficient housing, lack of
childcare or family support, and drug addiction. Many of these parents deeply love their children and want them home. Sadly,
poverty-related stresses and cultural stigma often make it difficult for them to
get their kids home and out of foster care. This is a story and perspective that's rarely told in today's media.
As most child welfare stakeholders will tell you, the general public
has a lot of empathy for kids who are in foster care, but very little
empathy for the parents. TOUGH LOVE addresses the complexity of
the child welfare system and shows that many of these parents are not
bad people, but are lacking in the support systems they need to raise
their children. By starting at the beginning, inside the parents' homes,
TOUGH LOVE will provide audiences with a better understanding of
what services vulnerable parents need to keep their children out of
foster care.
Interview with Film Makers Previous Award Winning Film
Wo Ai Ni Mommy (I Love You Mommy)
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May you find Strength in Your Higher Power,