Amanda Lipitz is an award-winning producer, writer, and director. Her 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 awarded the NAACP Image Award for Best Documentary, the African American Critics Choice Award for Best Documentary, the Lena Sharpe Award for Persistence of Vision at Seattle International Film Festival, and the Audience Award at AFI Docs Festival. Lipitz co-created and directed “Motherhacker,” a scripted podcast with Gimlet Media and Spotify starring Carrie Coon. Her Broadway producing credits include “Dirty Rotten Scoundrels,” “Legally Blonde the Musical,” and “The Humans.”

“Found” launches on Netflix October 20.

W&H: Describe the film for us in your own words.

AL: This film is about three young women who are adopted from China into American families. They discover — at a time in their lives when they are truly coming of age — that they are blood-related cousins, thanks to 23andMe. This connection awakens a dormant curiosity within all of them.

They encourage, support, and lift each other up, and with different hopes and goals, they embark on an amazing journey to China where they begin to find answers and discover pieces of themselves they didn’t know existed.

W&H: What drew you to this story?

AL: I have a very personal connection to this story. Chloe, one of the young women in the film, is my niece. For me, all films start with an image, and when my brother told me that he was having Chloe’s Bat Mitzvah at the wall in Jerusalem, that was my image. That moment of my Chinese-born niece surrounded by my big Jewish family and all the things that had to happen in order for that moment to happen inspired me.

W&H: What do you want people to think about after they watch the film?

AL: I hope it is more about how the people in the film touch their hearts. That it gives everyone the courage to find out “who you really are.”

W&H: What was the biggest challenge in making the film?

AL: Making sure the young women always knew that their emotional well-being was more important than any filmmaking, as it is such deeply personal subject matter.

W&H: How did you get your film funded? Share some insights into how you got the film made.

AL: My background is in Broadway producing, so I am no stranger to fundraising bit by bit. And that is what I did. We had a few large investments, but mostly it was smaller increments. It really is all about infusing investors with your passion.

W&H: What inspired you to become a filmmaker?

AL: My filmmaking career began because I was making short films to help raise awareness around education and what it felt like to be the first in your family to go to college. I did not even realize I was directing — I just wanted to tell these stories. I had never made a film before, and my first feature film, “Step,” was on the same topic. So, educating young people was my inspiration to become a filmmaker!

W&H: What’s the best and worst advice you’ve received?

AL: Best advice: Just start filming! Don’t wait for all the red tape — just start!

Worst advice: It’s not advice, but whenever I ignore my own gut feeling I regret it! Every. Single. Time.

W&H: What advice do you have for other women directors?

AL: I think it takes a lot of courage to stand up and say I am a director: it took me over a decade to realize that. Stand proud in your leadership shoes and have your opinion, but applaud and support those who help you with your vision.

W&H: Name your favorite woman-directed film and why.

AL: Penny Marshall’s “Big.” I just remember being so transported by that movie — it was based in the real world with this totally believable magic. It felt spontaneous and you knew the actors were having the time of their lives making it.

W&H: How are you adjusting to life during the COVID-19 pandemic? Are you keeping creative, and if so, how?

AL: I came home from China at the end of January 2020 and edited all of “Found” through the pandemic over Zoom with my incredible editor, Penelope Falk. I also had a baby during the pandemic, so I have been keeping busy!

W&H: The film industry has a long history of underrepresenting people of color on screen and behind the scenes and reinforcing — and creating — negative stereotypes. What actions do you think need to be taken to make it more inclusive?

AL: When picking projects I strive to make sure that the underlying core contains a message or movement around social impact, and providing a space for underrepresented people to share their talents and their stories. This infuses all of the creative decisions with inclusivity and a goal of raising voices that are not traditionally heard.