JEAN STRAUSS - filmmaker & author Silver Tandem Productions    Jean Strauss Beneath a Tall Tree The Adoption Trilogy Jean Strauss has worn many different hats during her life: wife of a college president, mother of two sons, national bestselling author ("Forever Liesl", Viking 2000), screenwriter, orator, teacher, national champion sculler, and professional tennis player, among them. Well known within the adoption community as the author of "Birthright: the Guide to Search and Reunion for Adoptees, Birthparents, and Adoptive Parents" (Penguin/1994), and her memoir, "Beneath a Tall Tree", (runner up in non-fiction at the Writer’s Digest Marketplace National Book Awards in 2002), she began making documentary films in 2004. A graduate of UC Berkeley and USC, Strauss turned to the medium of film to ‘express human stories through visual images.’ "The Triumvirate", her final project while a student at New York Film Academy, tells the story of her reunion with her birthmother and birth grandmother. The film went on to be named best documentary at the Smogdance Film Festival, and received the runner-up audience award for best documentary at the renowned Palm Springs International Festival of Short Films. It was later showcased at American Cinematheque’s annual program at the Egyptian Theatre honoring women directors and was selected by the San Diego Cinema Society as one of the top eight short films of 2004. Her next project, "Breathing", the story of a guitarist who loses the use of his hands, was a selection of the prestigious Hot Springs Documentary Festival. This was followed by another short on adoption. "Vital Records" was created in November of 2005 to help legislators understand the debate on legislation which would provide access for adoptees to their original records. Her most recent short, "Holding Hands", premiered at the Kinship Institute Conference in March of 2006. It examines the relationship between Strauss and her brother, Bobby. Separated through adoption, they were reunited as adults and Strauss was with her brother when he died. The film addresses the issue of lifelong sibling severance in adoption and foster care. All three adoption shorts are currently available on a DVD called "The Adoption Trilogy". She is currently working on a novel and a feature documentary.