- My Flesh and Blood (film)
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My Flesh and Blood Directed by Jonathan Karsh Produced by Jennifer Chaiken Starring Susan Tom
Anthony Tom
Faith Tom
Joe Tom
Xenia Tom
Margaret TomMusic by B. Quincy Griffin
Hector H. PerezCinematography Amanda Micheli Editing by Eli Olson Release date(s) 2003 Running time 83 minutes Country United States Language English My Flesh and Blood is a 2003 documentary film by Jonathan Karsh chronicling a year in the life of the Tom family. The Tom family is notable as the mother, Susan, adopted eleven children, most of whom had serious disabilities or diseases. The film itself is notable for handling the sensitive subject matter in an unsentimental way that is more uplifting than one might expect. It was nominated for and won several awards, including the Audience Award and the Director's Award at the Sundance Film Festival.
Contents
Plot
The documentary takes an in-depth at the Tom Family a focus on several of the eleven kids. The film is broken up into seasons starting out with family taking part in Halloween in the fall and ending in the Summer of the upcoming year. The family's unconventional home-life becomes a foundation for the supports, challenges, and successes that they face daily.
Cast
- Susan Tom, Mother of the children
- Anthony Tom, who has epidermolysis bullosa
- Faith Tom, who survived severe burns as an infant in a crib fire.
- Joe Tom, who has cystic fibrosis and ADHD
- Xenia Tom, who was born without legs. The condition is referred to as an congenitial amputee
- Margaret Tom, who has no severe disabilities and assists her mother.
There are six other children of whom we don't see as much due to the constraints of keeping the film to a reasonable length.
Awards
Received
Amsterdam International Documentary Film Festival
- 2003: Audience Award
- 2003: FIPRESCI Prize
- 2003: Special Jury Award - For documentary feature
International Documentary Association
- 2003: IDA Award - Honorable Mention - Feature Documentaries
- 2003: Audience Award - Documentary
- 2003: Directing Award - Documentary
Nominations
International Documentary Association
- 2003: IDA Award - Feature Documentaries
- 2003: Grand Jury Prize - Documentary
- 2004: Golden Trailer - Best Documentary
- 2004: Golden Satellite Award - Best Motion Picture, Documentary
See also
External links
Categories:- English-language films
- 2003 films
- American documentary films
- Documentary films about children with disabilities
- Documentary films about adoption
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