My name is James Beni Wilson, and I am a Filipino adoptee. My dream is to create a documentary that will share my journey with you. I will travel to the Philippines for the very first time in 20 years to search for my birth family and reconnect with my foster family.
In the documentary, I hope to express the importance of ethnic/cultural spaces and how I have utilized these spaces to reconcile my identities as a person of color/Filipino/Asian American.
To raise funds for the documentary and trip, I have created a Kickstarter campaign (which is a website where people submit projects for fundraising). This fundraiser using KICKSTARTER.com is an all-or-nothing project. If I do not raise enough funds for this in the next 17 days (until July 10th 8pm Eastern) it will be unsuccessful and no funds will be contributed to my documentary. If I reach my goal, I’ll receive all the funds contributed, and will be able to start the documentary.
From a small 3-year-old adoptee in rural Michigan, to a board member of the the Philippine American Community Center of Michigan (PACCM) where I facilitate an inter-generational class known as “Filipino Youth Initiative,” and as the Chair of the Youth Committee for the Council of Asian Pacific Americans (CAPA), I have learned a lot about being American and being Filipino.
I invite you to join me on the rest of this journey to reach back as I move forward. Visit http://kck.st/filipinoadoptee