CNN Films, RAW Reteam for ‘The Lost Sons’ Documentary:

The collaborators on ‘Three Identical Strangers’ at work on the stranger than fiction film about a real-life stolen baby mystery.
The Three Identical Strangers collaborators CNN Films and RAW are reteaming for the documentary feature The Lost Sons, produced in association with Campfire.

Directed by Ursula Macfarlane (Untouchable; Charlie Hebdo), the stranger-than-fiction film recounts the real-life story of Paul Fronczak, a reunited stolen baby who as an adult searches for the identity of his real parents. Production on The Lost Sons began in the summer of 2019, with CNN Films holding all distribution rights.

The executive producer credits are shared by Amy Entelis and Courtney Sexton for CNN Films, Liesel Evans for RAW and Ross Dinerstein for Campfire.

“I’m thrilled and proud to work with CNN Films and RAW to bring Paul Fronczak’s astonishing story to the screen. Nothing excites me more than a real storytelling challenge, and this is a mystery tale like no other. The Fronczak story has twists and turns you won’t believe and explores profound themes to which we can all relate: the importance and meaning of identity and family,” director Macfarlane said in a statement.

Fronczak’s search for his biological family started at age 10 when he unearthed a hoard of newspaper clippings about his parents grieving for a kidnapped baby and then celebrating two years later when an abandoned toddler was returned to them. His subsequent investigation into a life shrouded in mystery in adulthood uncovers a host of dark family secrets.

The story of The Lost Sons is told via re-enactments, the testimony of close family, first-hand witnesses, news footage and family archives.

CNN Films and RAW are returning to the familiar ground of family identity. In Three Identical Strangers, director Tim Wardle told the story of triplets separated at birth and accidentally reunited 18 years later.

And CNN Films acquired The Imposter from RAW, the true story of a French trickster who impersonated a Texas boy who disappeared at the age of 13, with Bart Layton directing.

The original production deal for The Lost Sons was negotiated by Piers Vellacott, managing director of RAW, on behalf of the filmmakers and Campfire, and by Stacey Wolf, senior vice president of business affairs, and Kelly MacLanahan, assistant general counsel, both of CNN Worldwide, on behalf of CNN Films.

View this article at The Hollywood Reporter.