“Family is what you make of it”. This sentiment, by Twinsters co-director Ryan Miyamoto, is somewhat of a mantra for reunited twins Anias Bordier and Samantha Futerman. The two women were both born in South Korea and adopted to two different families on two different continents. They found each other over social media, and have documented their relationship with each other and their newly extended family via video blogging and their new feature-length documentary.
It took two successful Kickstarter campaigns, but Twinsters has now debuted at SXSW. Futerman, a frequent video blogger, developed the idea after digitally documenting many aspects of their online reunions, and her first Kickstarter campaign led co-director Miyamoto to join the project. Both girls have stated that filming their reunion was not as intrusive as they anticipated. “[The filming] was not really any bother…Ryan was being really discreet, he was really quiet and nice”, said Bordier. Futerman has also praised Miyamoto’s discreet style, stating “We didn’t want somebody else to step in that we didn’t trust, like a big production company, to come in and tell us how the story should go”.
The sisters have been shocked and overwhelmed by the positive reaction to their story, and haven’t ruled out documenting their ongoing relationship. Both Futerman and Bordier were shocked at how much their story resonated with the audience, from other siblings who had been adopted to different continents, to those who used the film as an insight into the world of adoption. “I couldn’t believe that so many people wanted to come and see our story”, Futerman said. “It was an incredible experience”.
Check out the full interview below:
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