For those interested in larger contributions, partnerships, and potential production credits, please reach out to Derrick Owens at derrick.owens@theadoptee.com
The stories of Vietnamese adoptees have long been reduced to a simplistic "saved" versus "stolen" narrative. The true story of their adoption is far more complex, lasts a lifetime, and is now being told by adoptees themselves. Our film aims to change the conversation by centering adoptee voices.
Fifty years after his evacuation from Vietnam, adoptee Mike Frailey undertakes an odyssey to reconcile his past and find his birth family. The Adoptees is a uniquely personal exploration into the legacy of international adoption and the Vietnam War and a decades-spanning meditation on identity, family, and belonging.
In 1975, as South Vietnam teetered on the edge of collapse. As North Vietnamese forces closed in on Saigon, millions of refugees poured into the capital—among them were thousands of orphaned children.
In response, Gearld Ford issued an executive order initiating the immediate evacuation of all orphaned children waiting for adoption. Over 3,000 infants and children were airlifted out of the country over the course of a month and brought to the United States. These children, together with the hundreds of others adopted during the war, created one of the most significant mass-scale adoption events in modern history.
This became known as Operation Babylift.
For many Americans, this is where the story ended, but Mike Frailey's story was just beginning. He was just eight years old when he was put on a plane destined for Missouri alongside his best friend. In Vietnam, they were Thọ and Nga. In America, they became Mike and David.
Evacuated together during Operation Babylift, Mike and David were adopted by American families living on the same street in Missouri. While Mike embraced assimilation and the promise of the American Dream, David struggled to let go of their past and grappled with their memories of war. Their paths ultimately diverged, and they had a major falling out as teenagers.
In 2009, at the age of 42, Mike traveled back to Vietnam for the first time and began recording his experiences with photos and videos, and the seed of a documentary was born. In 2024, the discovery of a handwritten ledger in Mike's orphanage prompted him to reexamine his story and David's while mounting a search for his birth family.
A personal and historical look into the legacy of Operation Babylift, The Adoptees examines the long-term effects of international adoption, immigration, and the Vietnam War through first-hand accounts of the adult adopted children who lived it.
Co-directed by Mike himself, our film follows Mike’s journey to retrace his and David's lives—from orphanages in Vietnam to small-town America and ultimately to the 50th Anniversary of Operation Babylift. Our film sets out to answer the questions: what were the lifetime consequences of adoption for the Vietnamese adoptees, their families, and their loved ones, and how do the adoptees find meaning and purpose in their lives created by historical forces beyond their control?
Told through vérité footage, dual-subject interviews, decades of archival materials, and poetic 8mm recreations of fragmented memories, The Adoptees reveals a unique perspective on an untold chapter of American history. We are not seeking easy answers but instead a reflection on what it means to lose and to reclaim one's past, one's family, and one's sense of belonging.
While the film is set to complete production in early 2027, this is just the beginning. We will launch a nationwide impact campaign and screening tour dedicated to fostering conversation and building community with adoptee groups, the Vietnamese diaspora, and historical societies.
Our goals will be achieved through a robust series of film festivals and community screenings in collaboration with our growing list of partner organizations. So far, this includes Also-Known-As, Adoptees For Justice, the Inclusion Initiative, the Vietnamese American Organization, the International Documentary Association, and more.
The Adoptees joins a movement of adoptees reclaiming their narratives and challenging adoption policy and practice. We hope our film will serve as an enduring tool for educational and historical research, and a shared dialogue around identity, healing, and reform.
For the last two years, we have captured important scenes and interviews with various subjects and covered the 50th anniversary events for Operation Babylift in Vietnam and America. We estimate we already have 60-65% of the footage needed. Now, we’re in Phase Two of our principal production, and we need your help! All contributions will go towards production costs for our next shoots and post-production for editing the footage we have already shot.
In 2025, we secured fiscal sponsorship through the International Documentary Association, which means that each donation to our film, no matter how big or small, is tax-deductible.
Other Ways to Help!
If you'd like to support us but can't do so monetarily, that's okay! Here's what you can do instead:
You can reach out to our team at our email: derrick.owens@theadoptees.com.