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Found

Synopsis

FOUND follows the story of three American teenage girls—each adopted from China—who discover they are blood-related cousins on 23andMe. Their online meeting inspires the young women to confront the burning questions they have about their lost history. When they meet for the first time, they embark on a once in a lifetime journey to China in search of answers.

The Filmmakers

Amanda Lipitz Director

Amanda Lipitz’s directorial debut and first feature-length documentary, STEP, premiered in competition at the 2017 Sundance Film Festival and won the Special Jury Award for Inspirational Filmmaking. STEP was released theatrically in 2017 by Searchlight and was awarded the NAACP Image Award for Best Documentary. 

Ms. Lipitz’s Broadway producing credits include: “Dirty Rotten Scoundrels,” "Legally Blonde the Musical," "Modern Orthodox," "The Performers," "A View From the Bridge" (Tony Award, Best Revival) and, "The Humans” (Tony Award, Best Play). On television, Amanda served as executive producer and creator of MTV's groundbreaking series Legally Blonde the Musical: The Search for Elle Woods. Lipitz also associate-produced A Broadway Celebration for PBS as part of the White House music series.

Amanda most recently served as the co-creator and director of Gimlet Media’s narrative thriller podcast, MOTHERHACKER, which she is currently adapting for television.

After receiving a BFA in theater from New York University's Tisch School of the Arts, she now serves on the board of Tisch School of the Arts and is also on the board of trustees at New York University. She currently lives in New York City with her husband and three children.
 

Anita Gou Producer

Anita Gou is a film and multimedia producer who founded Kindred Spirit, which curates high-quality content in film, television, and emerging media. Her feature films The Farewell (starring Awkwafina) and Honey Boy (starring Shia LaBeouf and Lucas Hedges) premiered in competition at Sundance 2019. The Farewell was picked up by A24 for $6MM and was released theatrically in 2019. Both The Farewell and Honey Boy are Certified Fresh on Rotten Tomatoes. Gou produced and financed Sam Levinson’s Assassination Nation, which marked the biggest sale of Sundance 2018 to NEON, who released wide theatrical that year. She financed and served as executive producer on: Netflix’s To the Bone (Sundance 2017), the feature documentary The Last Animals (Tribeca 2017), and the augmented reality project Terminal 3 (Tribeca 2018). Gou was previously a producer at Taiwan’s Central Motion Picture Corp., where she helped oversee the production of Hou Hsiao Hsien’s The Assassin (Cannes 2015) and Martin Scorsese’s Silence which Paramount released (2016), as well as Taiwanese box office successes such as Our Times and Gatao.

As a third culture kid brought up by international schooling and speaking over four languages, Gou grew up between Los Angeles, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Beijing, and New York, and has sought to incorporate a global, diverse perspective into all of her projects. She holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Film Production and Anthropology from New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts.

Jane Zheng Producer

Jane Zheng worked in radio and television as presenter and producer for many years before studying her MA in TV journalism at Goldsmiths College, University of London. During her study she worked for BBC, produced and directed her own documentary about Lesbianism in China. After graduating, Jane has worked as a producer and executive producer on countless films in China. She worked as associate producer for the 2009 feature film ‘GASP’ which is starring Ge you, Liu Hua, Lin Xilei and Zhang Bolin, a movie that caused wide discussion and heated debates among general viewers and film professionals alike. She also worked as executive producer for “Red Light Revolution”, an indie film which has been selected and screened by various international film festivals. Recently, Jane just finished producing ‘The Farewell’, which was officially selected by the 2019 Sundance Film Festival for its “US Dramatic Competition”.

Jane is founder and owner of Seesaw Productions, a Beijing-based production house that offers full-service media production worldwide, collaborating with agencies and foreign production companies to produce TVCs, viral videos and films.

Her recent work includes: TV Ads for V-Zug, Land Rover, Amway and Chrysler; viral films for Porsche, Intel’s Visual Life campaign, P&G; Feature Films: GASP, Red Light Revolution, King of Peking, Dead Pigs, The Farewell.
 

Festivals & Awards

Hamptons International Film Festival

2021

Official Selection

Mill Valley Film Festival

2021

Official Selection

Scad Savannah

2021

Official Selection

Reviews

Smart, illuminating and tender...the journey of self-discovery [Sadie], Chloe and Lily share in FOUND is awesome indeed. ”

-The New York Times

A rare spotlight on the interior lives of Asian American girls, FOUND is told with such genuine love that it's frequently hard to hold back tears. Once again Lipitz has focused her lens on the magic of girls and has found real treasure. ”

-The Wrap

Incredibly moving...For an adoptee the notion of 'family' is so much more complicated and layered than it might be for someone else, but what FOUND powerfully argues is that within these many layers, there is an abundance of a unique kind of love, and understanding, to be found. ”

-Los Angeles Times