an adoption documentary by an adoptee
In the Year of the Rabbit, a Chinese American adoptee journeys back to her birthplace for the first time, blending archival footage of her adoption with present-day reflections on family, memory, and identity.
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Reframing the Adoptee Narrative
Year of the Rabbit is one of the first feature-length documentaries created for adoptees by an adoptee. Since the 1990s, more than 160,000 Chinese children have been adopted internationally. In 2024, China ended foreign adoptions, yet the questions that adoptees carry remain.
Through her journey of identity and discovery, Kemp reframes the adoptee narrative: What does healing look like without the birth parent search? By centering the adoptee’s voice, Year of the Rabbit offers both adoptees and general audiences a nuanced, universal story of memory, identity, and belonging.
Behind the story:
Born in the Year of the Rabbit, 1999, Abigail Kemp’s life was shaped by China’s One Child Policy. Adopted from rural China and raised in the American South, she grew up experiencing her birth country through her father’s camera lens. In 2023, as the zodiac cycle returned to the Rabbit, Kemp traveled back to China for the first time with her father. Year of the Rabbit weaves archival and present-day footage to tell a story rarely seen on screen, one of identity, belonging, and the meaning of homecoming.
Audience reach
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Even before release, Year of the Rabbit has built a proven audience. With over 10,000 followers and millions of views across TikTok, Instagram, YouTube, and Facebook, the film is already sparking conversation. Kemp’s Open Discussion Event with OneSky, the nonprofit that trained care workers in her orphanage, drew more than 100 attendees and received enthusiastic feedback on her sneak peek clip.
Director's Statement
Year of the Rabbit grew from my desire to represent an adoptee narrative where identity, healing, and home are not dependent on a birth parent search. This film is not only my personal story but also a reframing of how adoption can be portrayed on screen, for adoptees and for general audiences alike.
