Over the past sixty years, over a million ‘orphans’ were adopted by Western families from around the world. Now many are discovering their past was a lie. From the children who were stolen from their mothers during the Pinochet dictatorship, to Africa’s fake orphans, international adoption is at the heart of an unprecedented scandal. We join investigative journalists, activists and researchers in South Korea, Sweden, France, Chile, Germany, Holland and Switzerland.
How did this colossal, lucrative market manage to prosper? And why does it live on today?
[NOTE: International Adoptions: A Global Scandal available until August 17, 2026.]
DIRECTORS STATEMENT
Sonia Gonzalez and Christine Tournadre | Directors
For 50 years, tales of stolen children have appeared in the news of many countries, with each fresh scandal replacing the last. We would like to think these abuses are the work of a few nefarious individuals dodging the laws that protect children’s rights.
Our film will show this is not the case. If fraudulent practices continue today, in spite of the Hague Convention that has regulated international adoption since 1993, it is because the system itself is flawed, and intrinsically favors corruption.
Today, these practices are coming to light, largely due to pressure from adopted children who have grown into adults. Upon discovering the dubious conditions surrounding their adoptions, many begin to search for their biological parents, and demand explanations. A search made possible, if not easier, by social media, the internet and the availability of DNA testing, even when it is illegal in their adoptive countries (such as France).
To denounce the scandal of international adoption, we have carefully chosen our participants. Those who’ve suffered from the practice, those who track its abuses and corruption, and also those who seek to make amends and renew the ties that were broken long ago. Their stories, meticulously selected and outlined in the script, are both unique and representative of hundreds or even thousands of cases.
Storyteller airs every Sunday at 1800 GMT.
