Adopting Haiti Review: Doing the Right Thing and Hoping for the Best

Director and Producer Timothy Wolfer’s documentary, Adopting Haiti, is the story of something inspiring coming out of something quite tragic: the 2010 Haiti earthquake. Wolfer’s film shows the mess the earthquake created in Haiti and how even the noblest people with the best intentions of doing the right thing struggled to wade through it, finding themselves running into obstacles over and over again.

Wolfer put a post on Facebook: Anyone want to sponsor a poor film student filmmaker to Haiti? Within eight hours, he had two plane tickets and was on his way.

The earthquake of January 2010 devastated Haiti. In the midst of that chaos is the Maison Des Enfant De Dieu orphanage and Pierre Alexis, the orphanage director. Under his care are 135 orphans that Alexis is trying to find homes for in the United States. Decimated by the earthquake, the living conditions of the children are frightening to see and Wolfer’s camera does not shy away.

Babies sleep on blankets on the ground or on the floor of a cargo truck. Flies crawl all over the children, walking on their faces and eyes, and the children make no move to swat at them because they‘ve become used to their presence. At night, children sleep in a big pile on mattresses underneath a tarp because everyone – adults and children alike – are afraid to be inside buildings, fearing an aftershock from the earthquake.

The adoption process is a hard and long one, taking anywhere from twenty-four to thirty-eight months. It is for this reason that Tawnya Constantino of Salt Lake City decided to get involved.

Tawnya and her husband, Greg, are participants in an adoptive outreach program named For His Glory. Tawnya decided that she would go to Haiti and bring the kids back to the United States with her, thinking that that would be an easy process. Wolfer follows her as she deals with levels upon levels of bureaucracy that bring her to her wit’s end. The wear on her spirit is evident as her eyes begin to look weary and her smile begins to seem forced.

Wolfer and his small crew were not the only ones covering the story of the Maison Des Enfant De Dieu orphanage. CNN anchor and special correspondent Soledad O’Brien was also present with a CNN news crew. It is very impressive to see the access Wolfer was able to get. He interviews O’Brien in between news broadcasts and gets very honest responses from her. But he doesn’t stop there. Wolfer talks to everyone from the producer, Rose Acre, to the cameraman, Orlando Ruiz. He takes care to talk to everyone – volunteers, CNN staff, orphanage staff, and a few of the orphans as well. Wolfer works hard to create a whole picture from every perspective, but his resources are limited.


Several times something happens that Wolfer was not able to capture footage of, such as gunshots being fired nearby the orphanage or bodies being dumped in a ravine in an attempt to scare the orphanage off its supplies. The lack of footage for events like this is very unfortunate. To make up for their absence, he interviews Tawnya about these events to give an impression of it and you can see the fear and emotional exhaustion beneath the surface her demeanor. This is a woman that walked into a situation she was not prepared for and it has taken its toll on her. But she is determined to succeed.

Wolfer doesn’t create a story with an agenda, he doesn’t guide answers. Most importantly, he doesn’t judge anyone. Instead, he lets the people of Haiti and those there to help them tell their own stories by expressing their frustrations over the difficulty of the process or the joys of a new life. It is a very honest film, that doesn’t paint in broad strokes.

Adopting Haiti is film that doesn’t deal in absolutes. Though it is hopeful it does not feel triumphant, which would ring false. Wolfer’s film shows the complications that exist, even in success. This is a film that shows that good people may have to struggle to do the right thing, but if they try hard enough, they can bring aid to those in need.

To learn more about this film, visit Mattoid Entertainment.