MOVIES

The Ride (2018)

The Ride tells the true story of John Buultjens, a teen who endured an abusive childhood and ended up in juvenile detention. His life takes a transformative turn when he’s placed in foster care with an interracial family, where he learns acceptance, discipline, and the value of second chances. Guided by his foster father’s love and wisdom, John eventually discovers his passion for BMX riding, which leads him toward a successful future.

I Am Somebody’s Child: The Regina Louise Story (2019)

The journey of a young African American girl who navigated over 30 foster homes and psychiatric facilities before age 18, and the one woman, Jeanne, who believed in her. After Jeanne’s unsuccessful attempt to adopt Regina due to a racially motivated ruling, their bond is forced apart. The film follows Regina’s long and painful journey through the system, ultimately ending in triumph and reunion.

Little Bird (2023)

As part of a racist government policy now known as the Sixties Scoop, Bezhig Little Bird is forcibly removed from her home in Long Pine Reserve in Saskatchewan and adopted into a Montréal Jewish family at the age of five, becoming Esther Rosenblum. Now in her 20s, Bezhig longs for the family she lost and is willing to sacrifice everything to find them.

Watch on PBS: https://www.pbs.org/show/little-bird/ 

Juvenile: Five Stories (2023) – not currently available on streaming (c. 2025)

Shimaine, Ja’Vaune, Romeo, Ariel and Michael are all from different backgrounds and parts of the country, and each had a different pathway into the system: foster care, sexual abuse, violence, homelessness, mental illness and substance abuse. But as their individual narratives unfold in the film, a cohesive narrative emerges of the broken promises of our juvenile system across all American communities. Juvenile: Five Stories challenges viewers to recognize what the juvenile system does to young people, and how young people who’ve survived those systems are best situated to make restorative contributions to communities that are struggling to shift from cages to care.

Watch on Kanopy: https://www.kanopy.com/en/product/14650877

Earth Mama (2023)

An intimate coming of age story of a pregnant single mother, with two children in foster care, who embraces her Bay Area community as she fights to reclaim her family.

Watch on Hulu: https://www.hulu.com/movie/earth-mama-1d288549-dd45-42b4-94ff-a84a097f4a8d

A Thousand and One (2023)

Struggling but unapologetically living on her own terms, Inez is moving from shelter to shelter in mid-1990s New York City. With her 6-year-old son Terry in foster care and unable to leave him again, she kidnaps him so they can build their life together. As the years go by, their family grows and Terry becomes a smart yet quiet teenager, but the secret that has defined their lives threatens to destroy the home they have so improbably built.

I Just Killed My Dad (2022)

Anthony Templet shot his father and never denied it. But why he did it is a complex question with profound implications. Explore Anthony’s psyche prior to the events of June 3, 2019 and the journey of his mental and emotional aftermath.

Dopesick (2021)

The story of how one company triggered the worst drug epidemic in American history. Look into the epicenter of America’s struggle with opioid addiction, from a distressed Virginia mining community, to the hallways of the DEA, and to the opulence of “one percenter” Big Pharma Manhattan.

Antwone Fisher (2002)

A sailor prone to violent outbursts is sent to a naval psychiatrist for help. Refusing at first to open up, the young man eventually breaks down and reveals a horrific childhood. Through the guidance of his doctor, he confronts his painful past and begins a quest to find the family he never knew.

Foster (2011)

Some years after their son is killed in an accident, a married couple decide to adopt a child. One day a 7-year-old boy, Eli, unexpectedly arrives on their doorstep claiming to be from the adoption agency. Eli wears a suit every day and is very well-spoken for a child. He helps the adults to process their loss, which had stifled both their marriage and their toy business, and lets them embrace life again.

Three Identical Strangers (2018)

New York, 1980. Three complete strangers accidentally discover that they’re identical triplets, separated at birth. The 19-year-olds’ joyous reunion catapults them to international fame, but also unlocks an extraordinary and disturbing secret that goes beyond their own lives – and could transform our understanding of human nature forever.

The Dark Matter of Love (2012)

The film follows the Diaz family as they adopt 11-year-old Masha and 5-year-old twins Marcel and Vadim from Russian orphanages. The film explores the emotional challenges of bonding with children from institutional care and the family’s efforts to build connection and love with help from developmental psychologists.

Short Term 12 (2013)

Grace, a compassionate young supervisor at a foster care facility, helps at-risk teens. But when a new charge dredges up memories of her own troubled past, Grace’s tough exterior begins eroding.

The Unloved (2009)

Lucy is eleven years old. Having been neglected by her estranged mother and father, she is placed in a children’s home. Through her eyes, we follow her struggle to cope with the system; her only saving being her self-belief and certainty that she is being watched over and protected by the holy spirit.

13th (2016)

An in-depth look at the prison system in the United States and how it reveals the nation’s history of racial inequality.

Rewind (2019)

Digging through the vast collection of his father’s home videos, a young man reconstructs the unthinkable story of his boyhood and exposes vile abuse passed through generations.

Crack : Cocaine Corruption and Conspiracy (2021)

A cheap, powerful drug emerges during a recession, igniting a moral panic fueled by racism. Explore the complex history of crack in the 1980s.

Between the World and Me (2020)

Based on Ta-Nehisi Coates’ #1 New York Times bestseller and originally adapted and staged by the Apollo Theater, this special combines elements of that production – including powerful readings from Coates’ book – with documentary footage from the actors’ home life, archival footage, and animation.

POV – Fruits of Labor (2021)

A Mexican-American teenage farmworker dreams of graduating high school, when ICE raids in her community threaten to separate her family and force her to become her family’s breadwinner.

SERIES

Maid (2021), Netflix

After fleeing an abusive relationship, a young mother finds a job cleaning houses as she fights to provide for her child and build them a better future.

Max 4 hours credit.

Adolescence (2025), Netflix

Adolescence portrays a harrowing psychological crime narrative: a 13-year‑old’s arrest exposes fragile teenage mental health, toxic online influences, and systemic failures in youth care and justice.