Those (many) of you who watched Steve Hoover’s documentary Blood Brother on Independent Lens are no doubt curious as to what the film’s central character (and what a character) Rocky Braat is up to these days. Well, we reached out to the filmmaker as a follow-up to our recent Q&A, and got the following update:
Rocky and Nimmy are doing very well. It’s been really incredible to see so many people reach out to help the kids. We really hope to extend support to other orphanages, which Rocky is in the process of doing. We’re about to begin construction on a modest place for Rocky and Nimmy to live in the village, which will couple as the the first “halfway home” for kids transitioning out of the orphanage to adulthood. There are also plans being drawn to build a second halfway home. On top of that, many needs have been met as a result of people connecting with the film, all of which we are grateful for.
Surya has completely recovered, his health is good and he’s back in school. We were fortunate to bring him to the US this past August for a few weeks. We took him to my hometown of Carrolltown PA, where one of my nieces developed a crush on him. I think she was drawn to his confidence and of course, his charm.
The kids are doing well overall. There have been new children that have since moved in that I haven’t met yet. I hope to make a trip to see everyone in February. If people have further questions or specific updates they are curious about, they can email us at social@bloodbrotherfilm.com.