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 |
Music by | B. Quincy Griffin Hector H. Perez |
Cinematography | Amanda Micheli |
Editing by | Eli Olson |
Release date(s) | 2003 |
Running time | 83 minutes |
Country | United States |
Language | English |
IMDb profile |
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 mother Susan adopted eleven children, most of which 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.
In addition to Susan the mother, the film focuses on:
- Anthony Tom, who suffers from epidermolysis bullosa
- Faith Tom, who survived severe burns as an infant
- Joeseph Tom, who suffers from cystic fibrosis and ADHD
- Xenia Tom, who has no legs
- Margaret Tom, who is healthy and assists her mother
There are six other children who we don't see as much of due to the constraints of keeping the film to a reasonable length. For more information, including the family's appearance on Extreme Makeover: Home Edition, see the article on Susan Tom.