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KW Exclusive: Letter from Paul Fronczak of The Lost Sons

My name is Paul Fronczak, and my life is the subject of the new documentary The Lost Sons.

 

It’s a story that started way back in 1964, when a one-day-old infant was kidnapped from his mother’s arms in a hospital in Chicago. The infamous kidnapping led to the biggest manhunt in Chicago history — bigger even than the search for bank robber John Dillinger — but the boy was never found.

 

Then, two years later, another boy was abandoned in a stroller outside a department store in Newark, New Jersey. The FBI suspected he might be the kidnapped child, and they handed him over to the Fronczaks, who raised him as their own son in Chicago — despite a lack of evidence that proved his parentage.

 

That abandoned boy was me.

 

The Lost Sons is a psychological thriller that tells the story of my stranger-than-fiction journey to find out if I really am Paul Fronczak, the kidnapped boy, or if I am someone else. Believe me, the twists and turns in my search have been deeply emotional and deeply consequential. If they hadn’t happened to me, I wouldn’t believe they were true.

But this story isn’t just about me. It’s about anyone, anywhere, who has questions about their identity, their parents, and where they actually fit in.

 

As soon as I started my search in 2012, I began receiving letters and emails from people all over the world who were on their own amazing journeys of self-discovery: adoptees searching for their biological parents; siblings looking for other siblings; lost, damaged people trying to make themselves whole. I realized that my story might be able to help them in their own searches, by sharing ideas, highlighting resources and, most importantly, providing inspiration to keep going.

 

The quest to understand who we are can be extremely costly, and it can take us to dark places we never imagined — I know, because that’s what happened to me. I have paid a high price for trying to find the truth. But I’ve always believed that anything is better than living a lie, which isn’t really living at all. And that is why I continue to encourage and inspire others who are searching for answers, while also being very candid about the potential costs.

 

In the end, The Lost Sons tells a very universal and very beautiful story —the story of all humankind. It’s the story of our desire to understand what it is that makes us who we are.

 

- Paul Fronczak

Join us this afternoon for an exclusive CNN Films event 

Tune in to a special conversation today, September 27 @ 2 PM ET, on our newest film, The Lost Sons. Executive producer, narrator and film subject Paul Fronczak will be joined by CNN anchor Laura Jarrett. RSVP here. 

 

If you missed our event on The Lost Sons last week with Liesel Evans, creative director of UK Factual and executive producer, and Ursula Macfarlane, director and filmmaker, watch the recap here. Check out this sneak peek and watch The Lost Sons on demand via CNNgo and your cable provider until Oct. 26. 

 

Want to know more about what’s going on behind the scenes at CNN? Create a free CNN account here and you’ll get access to Inside CNN, an exclusive newsletter that offers an insider’s view of what’s going on across the network.

The food that brings friends together 

As part of our continued watchlist for Hispanic Heritage Month, we're rewatching Parts Unknown. When Anthony Bourdain traveled to Asturias, Spain (Season 12, Episode 91), his good friend, chef and humanitarian José Andrés, introduced Bourdain to his hometown. They engaged their tastebuds in the mountainous region of Spain's northern coast and met a tight-knit community along the way. Watch this episode, along with the full series of Parts Unknown, on HBO Max.

 

Did you know that Andrés also leads World Central Kitchen? This non-profit uses the power of food to nourish communities and strengthen economies through times of crisis and beyond. 

Announcing our 2021 Docuseries Intensive Filmmakers 

CNN Original Series partnered with Film Independent for the second annual filmmakers workshop, the Docuseries Intensive. From September 22-24, filmmakers received the tools and access needed to develop and present their nonfiction series to potential collaborators working in the series space. 

 

The 2021 Docuseries Intensive creative advisors and guest speakers included: Lynne Kirby, Elissa Johnson, Rushie Perera, Karin Hayes, Raeshem Nijhon, Katie Doering, Senain Kheshgi, Phil Byron, Brittany Clemons, Peter Richardson, Cullen Hoback (Q: Into the Storm); Mikaela Shwer, Parker Laramie and Sara Newens (Allen v. Farrow); Maureen A. Ryan (Dick Johnson is Dead); John Ealer (History of the Sitcom); Lyle Gamm, Jon Adler, Katie Isaacson and Rishika Advani (CNN).

 

Through executive and peer mentorship, workshopping and fostering industry connections, Fellows walked away with a deeper understanding of how the business works, as well as tangible next steps to move their projects forward. Courtesy of CNN Original Series, each filmmaker or filmmaking team received a $3,500 stipend to utilize as they see fit for their docuseries project below. Read more about their films here. 

 

Black Minds Matter: Michael L Brown, Producer; Garland Mclaurin, Producer

 

Bootstraps: Deia Schlosberg, Director/Producer; Vanessa Bergonzoli, Producer

 

Dear Appalachia: Ashley York, Director/Producer; Crystal Good, Producer;
John Fee, Producer

 

Driving the Green Book: Mike De Caro, Producer, Saro Varjabedian, Producer; Alvin Hall, Producer

 

Fighting Time: Margaret Byrne, Director/Writer/Producer; Rachel Pikelny, Producer

 

The Final Season: Luke Slendebroek, Director/Writer/Producer

 

From the Top: Chinisha Scott, Producer/Writer; Taryn Carraro, Producer

 

Ghost Lights: Reclaiming Theatre in the Age of AIDS: Kieran Turner, Director/Writer/Producer; Christianne Tisdale, Producer

 

Growing Up in America: Life After the Taliban: Isabel Soloaga, Producer/Writer/Director; Daniel Chávez-Ontiveros, Editor

 

Where You From? The Search for a Filipino-American Cultural Identity:
Dani de Jesus, Writer/Producer; Leslie Alejandro, Director/Writer/Producer