Precious Cargo

"Precious Cargo"
photo courtesy of Jack and Judy Cornwall

Precious Cargo

Produced by Janet Gardner and Pham Quoc Thai for ITVS and PBS

Available from Filmakers Library

In 1975, U.S. forces were withdrawing from Vietnam. One of the last acts was Operation Babylift, which flew more than 2,500 South Vietnamese children to America, where they were placed in American homes. These children were the "precious cargo".

In 2000, on the 25th anniversary of the Babylift flights, eight adoptees returned to their homeland in search of their histories and heritage.

"Precious Cargo" tells the parallel stories of Operation Babylift and the adoptees' journey.

The eight adoptees, now in their 20s and 30s, are a remarkable group and include:

a survivor of the first Babylift flight that crashed, killing 154 of the 330 adults and children on board,
an adoptee who has reconnected with her birthmother,
an adoptee on her second trip back,
an adoptee who is pursuing a singing/songwriting career (who wrote and sings "Hold On", performed at the end of the film),
adoptees who were disabled children.

As children, they had been orphaned, abandoned, or placed for adoption as a final hope for their survival. Today in the film, they are sensitive adults, aware of their pasts and seeking a connection to the people, places, and culture of their birth.

The film includes interviews with people who place the Babylift flights in a historical and political perspective, including:

Col. Bud Traynor, pilot of the first Babylift flight,
Trinh Thi Nog, better known as "Hanoi Hannah",
John Williams, President of Holt International Children's Services (which sponsored the trip), who, in 1975, was in Saigon - his first year with Holt.

Interviews with the adoptive families give insight into issues of multicultural families, search and reunion, dealing with a difficult history, special needs, international adoption, and the chaos of the times when adoption from Vietnam was in its infancy.

Particularly poignant are the faces of the adoptees as they visit orphanages where they lived as children, and as they confront the realities of Vietnam - the beauty, the poverty, the still-high anti-American sentiment.

And on a personal note, during the trip, two of the adoptees, Jennifer Arias and Todd Adamson, fell in love and were planning to marry on November 3, 2001.

The film debuted on PBS stations around the U.S. the weekend of November 11th, 2001, to celebrate National Adoption Awareness Month. The video runs an hour, costs $295 to buy, and is only to be used for non-commercial educational purposes, which would make it a great choice for adoption professionals, educators, and those working with international adoption and multicultural families.

Available from Filmakers Library

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