Filmmaker Chithra Jeyaram follows an Indian immigrant family navigating transracial adoption, cultural identity and the complexities of maintaining connections with birth family.

When it comes to defining what makes a family, the conditions are flexible. Some families are nuclear, some are blended and others are in a constant state of flux. And while they share some of the same basic characteristics — parents, grandparents, children, aunts and uncles — each family is undeniably unique.

Such uniqueness is at the heart of documentary filmmaker Chithra Jeyaram film, “Love Chaos Kin,” a story about an adoptive family, immigration and multiple layers of identity. Coincidentally, it is in theaters this November, which is National Adoption Month and Native American Heritage Month.

Nearly 10 years ago, Jeyaram was investigating adoption for herself. Her research led her to a blog written by Lakshmi Iyer, an immigrant from Chennai, India, who moved to the U.S. with her husband in 2001 to work in the IT field. After struggling with infertility and having unsuccessful fertility treatments, the couple adopted twin white girls from a birth mother in New Mexico. It was an open adoption, meaning all parties could continue to be in each other’s lives.

An Indian immigrant couple adopting white girls is a story that would catch most people’s eyes, but Jeyaram went beyond that, and over the 98-minute documentary shows how — and why — this works. To make things more interesting, the girls are of Navajo descent on their biological father’s side.

When Jeyaram connected with Iyer, she was intrigued and asked if she could shoot three days of test footage with an eye toward making a short documentary. What she found was much more than that; her observations resulted in a feature that will open your heart and mind.

From different interests in food and music to outlooks on life, navigating family dynamics is far from easy. Add to that twin girls adopted by a couple who celebrates their Indian culture and who encourages the girls to maintain a relationship with their biological mother and learn about their biological father (even though he plays almost no role in their lives) and you’ll appreciate that “Love Chaos Kin” has won awards from the Middlebury New Filmmakers Festival (AICEF Prize for Cross Cultural Filmmaking), the Chicago South Asian Film Festival (Best Documentary Audience Award) and the Centre Film Festival (Made in PA Audience Award).

Jeyaram’s story, told over a period of about eight years, is about the ups and downs that we all face, and it’s a reminder that no one succeeds alone. The film tells the story of the girls and their ability to navigate multiple cultural identities, know who they are and where they are going. It’s a tribute to Lakshmi and Narayanan Iyer and the way they raise the girls, to birth mother Katherine Faye and her willingness to be part of their lives and this film — and ultimately to Jeyaram for being the river that runs through it all as storyteller.

I saw “Love Chaos Kin” during its stop in Los Angeles. It’s heartwarming, heartbreaking and inspirational. See the trailer here and click here to see where it’s headed next. There is also this TVOD (pay-per-view) option that allows you to watch the film this month or gift it to someone else to watch.

Ron Epstein is publisher of L.A. Parent.