Alex has always known he was adopted. And he’s proud of it. But in those quiet moments of life, questions inevitably nag at the back of his mind. Finally gathering the courage to dig up his birth records, he starts down the uncertain path to find answers from the most important woman he’s never met – his birthmother.

Catherine made the hardest decision of her life as a teenager. Yet she handled the unwanted pregnancy with a maturity and grace beyond her years. Never looking back, she went on to carve out a life of her own. But her suburban world is disrupted when Alex’s best friend, Eddie, shows up on her doorstep hoping to reunite the two. Now, Catherine is forced to make a choice even more difficult than the one she made 26 years ago.

FOUND is the story of Alex and Catherine, son and mother, the journey toward their possible reunion, and their struggle with how such a meeting could change their lives forever.

FULL FILM

DIRECTOR’S STATEMENT

What’s in a name? Is it simply an identifier for your family and friends? Or is it something much more profound, a collection of letters and sounds that somehow help define the person you are? What if you had been given a different name? Would you have become a different person?

I’m adopted, a fact I’m thankful to have known my entire life. Still, having never learned many details about my birthparents, my curiosity about them and whether or not I should ever meet them will occasionally occupy my thoughts. Do I really want to meet them? Will they disappoint me? More importantly, will they want me interrupting their lives? Nothing would be worse than going through a long emotional journey… only to be rejected by the very woman who gave birth to me.

The eternal question of nature versus nurture is greatly appealing. In fact, it can be a very powerful reason for some to seek out their birthparents. For instance, what has drawn me so deeply to the arts, and ultimately to this career as a filmmaker? As supportive as they are, it’s not something I got from my mom and dad. Could it instead be a genetic trait? Even more compelling, at birth my biological mother gave me a name. To this day, I have no idea what that name was. It’s fascinating enough to consider how my life would be different if my birthmother had raised me, but to also consider such a simple difference as my name… it boggles my mind.

All of these questions – and so many more – have brought me to this moment, and to this film. Will I ever seek out my birthparents? Perhaps. But that’s another story for another day.

TRAILER

CAST

CREW

THANKS TO OUR DONORS

The Irving Lerner Endowment Fun
Jim, Becky, and Cullen Arbaugh
Stephanie and Jason Kingrey
Mary Dodge
Damian and Christine Sheets
Mark Laemmle & Martina Parrone
Ron and Holly Schultz
Ton and Lisa Bedacht
Ken and Gayle Bushman
George and Jun Coors
Charles M. Detmering
Carla and Todd Elwert
Jack and Gina York
Alicia Broadhurst
Julie York Coppens
William and Dorothy Effler
Brett and Robin Moore
Ray and Brenda Prock
Natalie Steiman
Stephanie Kackley Blankenship
Patt Henderson
Allen and Mary Arnold
Deb Ohlinger & Bob Logsdon
Brooke and Nick Pratt
Ernie and Mary Lou Caines
Bev and Charlie Childers
Joyce Klein
Myra Stryker
Rob and Nicole Wells
Sue Palmer