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What if your father’s childhood was a handful of strange fragments, a “castle,” a room with 25 beds, hunger, silence, and a single forbidden question.
Filmmaker David Quint grew up sensing his dad was different, but nobody explained why. His father, Urban, had been raised in a 700-year-old Swiss castle that served as an orphanage, then at age 12 received a letter that changed everything: “You’re not an orphan. I’m your mother. You’re coming to America.”
He arrived in Philadelphia alone, not speaking English, looking for a woman in a pink scarf, and learning in real time what a mother even was. When he asked about his “real father,” his mother shut it down, and the subject became off limits for life.
Decades later, David made one decision that changed his relationship with his father forever. He emailed the castle.
What came back was proof, records, a name, and a path that led David and his dad back to Switzerland, with an old iPhone recording every moment. The trip brought long-buried memories to the surface, reunited his father with the boy who slept in the bed next to his, and ultimately uncovered answers that no one saw coming.
David’s documentary, Father Unknown, will be screened at Untangling Our Roots, and in this conversation, he shares the real story behind the film, what it meant to watch his father become fully human in front of him, and how discovery can heal what decades of silence could not.
Also, full transparency, we recorded this episode during an emotional week at home. Our beloved 11-year-old mini Dachshund Frankie was hospitalized and undergoing two surgeries, he is deeply bonded with Corey, and you’ll hear how tender this moment was. David met that reality with kindness and grace, and we’re grateful.
In this episode, we talk about
If this episode hits home
Please share it with someone who’s navigating adoption, donor conception, NPE discovery, or any kind of identity rupture. And if you’ll be at Untangling Our Roots, add David’s screening to your must see list.
Guest Bio: David Quint
David Quint has worked in the film industry for 30 years as a director, cinematographer, and aerial cameraman, filming projects for Netflix, MTV, NBC, ABC, CBS, and other networks, along with feature films, documentaries, and commercials. He discovered his passion for storytelling as a boy growing up in Western Colorado, and after decades of working with state-of-the-art motion picture cameras, he never imagined he would unintentionally capture his most personal film on an iPhone 3. That film became Father Unknown, a deeply human story of family, identity, reunion, and the questions that echo across generations.
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