40: A DOCUMENTARY ABOUT MY FAMILY SECRET (THERE'S A TWIST)
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- čas přidán 28. 08. 2024
- Okay. I am HELLA NERVOUS. I've been keeping a huge secret from almost everyone and you guys for a year. Stay through the whole thing for a huge twist.
This is a documentary I made that premiered this week at Buffer Festival. My life changed a whole lot a year ago and I took a year to process. Thank you for your patience and for watching.
Please share your similar stories in the comments. I'd like to hear I'm not alone!
"40: A Documentary About Family"
Directed by Alexis G Zall and Gaby Dunn
Shot by Dick Green, Doug Frerichs and Gaby Dunn
Sound by Doug Frerichs
Thank you to all of the above people and to my dad and to Aunt Norma and to Virgil and especially to Jason. Welcome to the madness, bro.
When my daddy was in his 40s, he worked at a factory in a nearby town... He worked beside a man with his same last name (which is a rare name around here) for about 6 months... One day, my daddy asked him if he knew a Jack (same last name) & the man said yes that’s my uncle, so my daddy asked him if knew James (same last name), the man said yes that’s also my uncle...then my daddy asked if he knew a Clyde (same last name) & the man said yeah that’s my dad... As my daddy stuck out his hand to shake the man’s hand, he said “well, it’s nice to meet you, brother!”...And that’s how my daddy met his first brother...years later, he met another brother & a sister at my grandad’s funeral. (My daddy was not raised by his father.)
My sons have two older half siblings brothers, they all grow up together living with us, their father is my partner, now over 20 yrs later they are close which makes me very happy to know if anything happens to us those adult men still have each other. * I say to them "you may have different mothers but you have the same father so you still are brothers, a family".
😲
I flipping love the genre of family secrets, estrangement, and reconnection. This is a fascinating video and I love your commentary.
So vlogging is literally in your genes! Awesome story!!
Jason talking about bonus people who love you really resonated with me as a child of divorced parents with long time partners!
Thank you for sharing this, Gaby! A great documentary that really hit close to home for my family! My mom's mother died when she was five and she never knew the identity of her father. Five years ago, I bought her the Ancestry DNA test for her birthday to see if we could finally get some answers to the mystery. Over the years, we've had distant cousins pop up that didn't match anything we knew about her mom's family, so I could only assume they were related to her dad, but we never really got anywhere talking with these distant matches. Last month, a first cousin popped up, I sent him a message (from my mom's account) explaining what we knew and later that day, her cousin emailed me back, and I got to call my mom as she was driving home from work to tell her the news. She pulled the car over, and we cried on the phone together as I told her her dad's name, along with the unfortunate news that he passed away nearly twenty years ago. Thankfully, her dad's family members have really embraced my mom (she regularly talks with her dad's sister on the phone) and the closure of knowing has given my mom great peace.
Aunt Norma TRULY looks like an older version of Phoebe from Friends.
@@lh8593 edited, thanks
This is very well shot and edited. Plus, what a story. Great job, Gaby. Seriously.
Broads
This was so cool! Thank you for sharing this, Gaby. I know it wasn't easy. Your dad reminds me of my uncle. He was my favorite uncle. The badass who was hardly around & always smelled like cigarette smoke. The black sheep in the family. He passed away because of his hard lifestyle. Since his passing my family has found a few of his kids through Facebook. I have a cousin that looks like she could be my sister's twin. It's really cool. I wish my uncle was here to reconnect with them, but I'm glad they are in our lives now!
I definitely have a similar story. I’m adopted and I’ve known my whole life that I am but never knew my biological family. Not to get to “hippy dippy like your dad” lol but as fate would have it, right as I gave up on finding my family, a few months later ON MY 23rd BIRTHDAY my 16 year old brother messaged me on Facebook. He told me our mom has known who I am and known my fb for 5 years but was too scared to reach out but he wanted to get to know his sister. After that a rollercoaster of events happened, including me moving across country to where they lived so that I could meet them. I also found out that I had 4 more little brothers - with the youngest being a little over 20 years younger than me. Growing up with my adoptive family I was an only child - so trust when I say it was A LOT. But it was also one of the most rewarding experiences of my life. And now, soon to be 3 years later next month, it was one of the best things to ever happen to me.
My partner just found his birth family and I am also adopted so this video really resonates with me! Thanks for sharing your family's story :)
This was just great, and beautiful. Your reactions to your father were hilarious. And if "23 and me" didn't sponsor this documentary they definitely should have!
Other people have said that but idk I didn't want to taint it with a brand deal
Gaby Dunn that makes total sense, and like I said it is a beautiful, and clearly very personal, documentary. Absolutely loved it
I respect that. However, I'm guessing this will get a ton of views in spite of it's length - it's wonderful. You should at least tag 23 and Me so that it comes up in a search for "Gaby Dunn 23 and Me". My guess is they'll stick an ad on here at some point.
First time I ever came across you. I must say kinda love ya. Great story great storytelling. ❤️
Thank you so much for sharing your family's story with us. Really beautiful and weird and thought-provoking.
EXCELLENT oral history! You are an excellent narrator and compiler
this was amazing! i totally thought by your tweets it was gonna be a dark and scary secret but this was amazing and sweet
Same reaction here. Went from "oh no" to "awwwwwwww" very quickly.
This is so nice!!! I was expecting a way sadder story I'm so glad it turned out this well!!
Well done, Gaby. Although I showed this video to my wife and she just glared at me and asked if I was trying to tell her something! I had to reassure her that there were no surprise offspring in my background.
Loved this so much. You can never be loved by to many💚more sibling💝💯
Wow this is an AMAZING story! Not to sound like your dad but the universe maaaan
What an inspiring young lady, you are. If only we were all as accepting, me included. God bless you all
I love this video I can relate …
Because of MySpace I found out about thirteen years ago I have a (half) sister.
I find it very cool that you share your experience here!
You can see that this daughter has a great relationship with her dad. The two had me laughing when she gets on to her dad for his past actions leaving him basically speechless because he knew she was right. However, I can see why the dad was such a "playa" back in the day. He was hot! Still looks good in in this video! It's good to see families come together as a whole while bringing laughter and joy to one another especially in doing so under circumstances such as this!
Great job on making what could have been messy into a beautiful story to tell your grandchildren.
Hear rumors that I might have a brother out there somewhere, I've always wanted one. Who knows, my father was a 70's child and women chased him until the day he died. My mother swears the women next door took his passing away a lot harder than she did.
What a wonderful journey, I felt all of it thanks to your natural abilities to "be yourself", (plus your producing). Thank you!
I love documentaries, also laughed at the 'take your DNA down' ending
How cute!! I loved this so much! I knew it would be amazing! 💖
this was so great, when i read the title i thought you were going to say that you were part of a murder family or something
I WISH
@Tooth less I'm sure she was being sarcastic
@@nofungabydunn but seriously..
no, you really don't.
Thank GOD it wasn't about a mass murder.
This is incredible Gaby. Very well made. Wild and amazing story.
omg score one for chaotic good. have you thought about what exciting things might await you when you are 40?
Definitely nothing THAT crazy, considering her anatomy!! One upside to having a vagina. They're a lot to handle and VERY high-maintenance, but if a kid pops out of there it's yours- unless you've decided to be a surrogate.
The cuts to your reactions are priceless. This documentary is so well done.
This is lovely. I know I have a cousin who is about 9 months older than me who I haven't met, since the uncle I'm named after died in a car crash and his girlfriend was about to have a kid. Because they weren't married at the time, my grandparents weren't great about embracing her, and she left town, so there's someone I'd love to meet, since my siblings and our cousins on that side of the family are a small number (six of us) and we all are like siblings to one another, and we'd all love to meet her, though it'd have to be her wanting to meet us too, because I'm sure there are bad feelings on that side about our family, understandably.
xingcat I actually am in a pretty similar situation too!
I’ve got a cousin, I don’t know how much older (I was so so little when everything happened I barely remember meeting them even once), but less than 3 yrs that Ive always wanted to meet. I’m not clear on exactly what happened but I know there was some kind of a fight and our families have been estranged ever since. That cousin is the daughter of my dad’s sister. Both my mom and dad had a sibling but everyone else from my generation are only children (at least from what I know) so I don’t have really any relatives around my age (my closest cousin is 13 years older than me) and I’ve always wanted to find her and reach out. But similar feeling, I’m sure there aren’t great feelings towards me and my family from them and I’m afraid of how the reaction might be.
I'm a total cynic but I actually cried twice this was soooo sweeeet!!!!! my partner's mom met her birth parents (she was adopted) when she was about middle age and they were so much alike it was insane, they almost clashed personalities because they're both really intense lol, but they became best friends. it was unexpected for the birth mother to be reached out too but she ended up being really glad about it. my partner's mom ended up passing away in 2015, so I think I would have to apply your dad's hippie mindset to the luck that they met before then
Not only does he look just like dad...but he looks just like grandad!!!
Imagine hearing your newly discovered father say he did not remember "hooking up" with your mother and seeing your father think that was funny. Seeing that made me feel empathy for your newly found brother. Quite frankly I thought your father was a schmuck for the way he reacted.
I like how you make sure we all know who everyone is... also you have a great personality
This is really awesome! Thank you for sharing your life with us. Very neat and since I have first hand knowledge of having a Dad that was adopted then meeting his Birth family, it feels like such a blessing. (I'm a hippie type too) lol
You should talk about this in your podcast and the jbu channel cause this is something to be so proud of!
This was awesome! I actually went through something sorta similar: I was estranged from my mom for 15 year. I had known my mom as a small child, but my sister hadn't (she was 1 when our parents were divorced. She found us on FB in 2009. We gained a step-dad and a step-brother from the equation. We had very similar experiences where there were things about my sis and I that we had in common with each other, but no one else in our family that we know about--until we met our mom. Including: love of genre books/tv, specifically vampires. Similar mental health issues, shared love of fashion, and on and on. We were even watching the same television shows when we met. It was a bit surreal.
This made me so happy, happier than I've been since corona lockdown in march :D I loved this, it's like a freaking movie. also your dad is really handsome ^^
That’s so sweet that the Dunn family embraced him so lovingly! My mom did the ancestry DNA test and got a match which I presume is her half sister, she didn’t know she had... My mom then sent her a message through the ancestry service saying that she thinks she’s her half sister and her desire to get in touch with her father. Unfortunately, even though my mom’s half sister read the message, she hasn’t replied. And it’s been about a little over a year... It breaks my heart for my mother but i guess it can’t always end up beautifully like it did with your family. Thanks for sharing!
Remember timing is everything. People sometimes have to sit with something for awhile before finally acknowledging it.
This is so amazing! And 23 and me owes you big time!
My dad's secretary went on Ancestry to research her family and after a while, she got a call from a woman who thought that they were sisters and that the woman knew their biological mother. My dad's secretary said that she hadn't been adopted so that was impossible. But, she later talked to her dad (who had divorced from her mom who then later passed away) and he said that she HAD been adopted, but that her mom didn't want to tell her and that he didn't know how to tell her later. So she called the woman back and they were half sisters and she met her and biological mother. I wonder sometimes how many people might have lived entire lives not knowing they were adopted, and how the internet may be changing that number.
There's gotta be tons of stories like this bc of the popularity of genetics testing now
It touches the heart, tests your honesty, gives your life meaning, makes you wanna take a chance and it gives you hope. All with a tug on your heart and a splash of cold reality. Thank you
This is so crazy! Love that it all worked out so well. Jason seems really cool!
This was amazing! Truly a great, sweet gift.Can hardly wait to see what you do next.What a talent I wish you the best! U are loved.
Wow! Such a great story! In met my biological father at 23 and I just did the dna kit. Waiting to see what mysteries await 💕
Interesting to see the sons and fathers mirroring each other both times
So I grew up without a father and I did end up meeting my father and have a relationship with him when I was an adult however my children really didn't prefer one with him and now I know my own daughter has given a grandson up for adoption I just hope that we can come through a circle like your story because I would like to know my grandson someday
This is such a cool and touching story and I'm so glad you are sharing it!
That's a cool secret! And an amazing documentary. Very well shoot and produced; loved the way your comment scenes didn't seem forced at all. It came across as very genuine. You did a great, be very happy for yourself!! :)
I hate to keep your dad's hippy stuff going but the universe really is crazy lol!! 😂this is an insanely cool story, thanks for sharing Gabby!
Such a good story to share! Many blessings and great new memories for the years ahead to all!
This was such an interesting story. The universe is crazy.
Life is so interesting, being “normal” is fine but sometimes having little odd connections and stories is more interesting. Thank you for sharing, I know it was hard. Hope you can breathe a little easier now everything is out there!
The video just popped in, and I do not regret watching it, Gaby, you're witty 😍 Your dad was awesome 😎
Crazy as it is it's a beautiful story and happy to see you all connected after 40 yrs. It beats not knowing. During covid I found out my GGGrandfather came to explore the Salish Seas in 1858 from PEI. He had many Schooners, Steamships & Shipwrecks. Including the famous SSBeaver that sunk at Prospect Point in the late 1800's. My Grandmother was a Chief's daughter from the Haida Gwaii and is still the oldest native to die on Vancouver Island in 1931 at 104. During the Spanish Flu she was interned to Kuper Island. Well my White Grandfather was picking up dead bodys in his Steamships. My Grandfather came back from Vimy Ridge wounded, new marriage, baby & a pandemic in Vancouver all before the age of 23. All this and more that they didn't talk much about that my Coast Salish father left me 20 yrs. That's about all covid was good for as I had time to research.and wanted to share out of my lonely bubble about this
"What if he types with really bad punctuation???" OK, Gaby, that right there proves you are my long-lost sister even though it's not a biological connection.
So creative. So funny. Well done!
I think all this is beautiful! Meant to be, (I’m a 60s-70s person, as well!)
New surprises I life are refreshing and
Bring more joy to all. Best wishes, prayers and love/peace out! 🙏♥️✌️
This is the best content on CZcams atm!!
This is the best DNA story yet…you did a wonderful job
I met my half brother and sister for the first time at 24. It is easily the weirdest thing I have experienced to be face to face with someone who looks so incredibly similar to me who's also a complete and utter stranger, to have a shared history with someone who you also couldn't pick out of a crowd, just truly bizarre. My sister has incredibly curly hair and wears little makeup, one News Years eve she straightened her hair and had heavy black eyeliner on, it wasn't until she walked up and put her arm around me and started talking did I have any idea I knew this woman, and it still took a few extra moments for my brain to catch up. It's been ten years and things did not go..uh.. well. The only thing I could hope to pass on from my experience is to communicate openly, allow the other siblings to experience whatever emotions come along as they pop up, and to give each other the space and time to process anything unexpected in the future, because some times you don't know you've been holding back until words vomit themselves all over your new found sibling to the horror of you both.
My Dad didn’t have contact with his father after he was 2 years old. When Dad was 18 my Grandfather showed up in Arizona to get to know his son. Well that was 1948 and Dad was already in the Navy. My Grandmother gave him the name of the ship. Dad was notified he had a visitor when docked in San Diego. Surprise surprise surprise. His Dad and stepmother were there to take him to dinner. 5 years later he was barely out of the Navy and marrying this girl he had known for 3 months (only lasted 57 years 🤣) . She was shocked to find out he had local “relatives”. Poor Dad never really understood emotions (on the spectrum) and they had a cordial relationship at best. Greendad (spelling correct) was a wonderful grandfather to us.
THIS IS AMAZING!! Meeting you last weekend at Buffer Fest I could see how nervous you were about this, but it turned out amazing. This is such a wild experience to have in your life and you all handled it beautifully. Proud of you Gaby!!
23andme gave me a whole new family about five years ago. I love them so much! Then this year, we found another brother none of us knew about. Sadly, he doesn't want to know us...yet. :)
AH! Gaby! This is so well done. Such an interesting story! Thank you for sharing this :)
I really enjoyed the story and more importantly the outcome and the clear message that seems to come with it (the message might be a little different for everyone and that's ok). My cousin and I are doing some intense family investigation on our Grandmother's tier of family history and their mother's tier (our great grandmother) and what we've uncovered is absolutely unimaginable, unbelievable, amazing, and even book worthy!?. Good job Gaby and hope your relationship only grows with your brothers.
You have made this documentary narrative amazing...lol 👏🏽 it's really good
I mean, don’t we all have a half brother we didn’t know about that we found out about later in life?
The 70s were wild
I found out about mine on accident when I was 12. Who knows how long it would have taken had I not found an old picture of him after my parents divorced
Maybe for y’all white folks lmao
I think it's in most families. My mom's dad met his mom as an adult because his dad kidnapped him when he was 3 and my dad met his dad as an adult because his mom ran off with him when he was a baby. Lot of kidnapping back in the day I guess.
Found out that I had a half brother a few years ago when he hit me up on fb messenger. His profile pics were enough proof, exact replica of my father! Crazy shit!
Fascinating story! Grandpa Dick has an endless library of family films that needs to be catalogued someday. Also, hi cousin! I live in LA now, too.
Great story, Gabby! But seriously, when you interjected your thoughts, you drew my heart into it! Priceless! 💜
Gaby's reactions are very relatable lol
Thank you for sharing this, as it turns out those old videos were priceless. People will be watching this one for a long time.
Awesome story!! Well put together!!
Great story! Thanks for sharing with us!
Awesome story,I too partied in the 70's and really have friend that have experienced the same.I am stil Peace ,love and rock and roll!LOL
So many questions!!! I already posted support on the tweet, but just going to say: this is beautiful, and I'm honored you're sharing it with the world so I can see it. Thank you!
Great story Gaby! Just came here from jbu podcast :)
Your dad is awesome! I always wished I had one.
Thanks for sharing. And I feel that it is true what you say about being the same as a family you didn't grow up with. I did see many things in me with the father i didn't grow up with. We had similar works for example.
That was a beautiful story! You have a great family!
i saw this at buffer fest, and it was WONDERFUL. gaby, you’re an absolute legend, and this film is so well made and entertaining. I hope you get to make the feature film and add in all those extra clips!! 💛
Incredible family story. It’s wonderful to have another brother, a big family. Congratulations.
Gaby, you were such an awesomely adorable little girl -- and a very cute lady. Thanks for sharing your interesting story. Especially amazing that it started even before social media.
OMG JASON DOES *NOT* LOOK FOURTY
Also, is Allison friends with Jason??? Does she even know him????
Thank you!!
@@jasonbragg888 OH my god hi!!!
Ana Fdez That’s what I was thinking. He looks so young!
Stop :)
Interesting story! And I like your humour :)
What a marvelous story! Thank you for sharing. I thoroughly enjoyed it. 🙏♥️
thanks for sharing gabby, this was really cool =) also, directed by Alexis G Zall HELL YEAH!!!
It's crazy how the world works sometimes my mind is absolutely blown by this and how sweet the ending was I'm glad it worked out for everyone. You never know what the universe has in store for you
Lovely Story - talk about history repeating! Thank you so much for sharing it.
This was awesome Gaby! So glad you decided to share this story x
Great video! You are adorable, and girl, you've got some fine men in your family--all three generations. Thanks for sharing ur family's story. Your dad is sooooooo cute.
Cute!!! I love it!! Im glad its a happy story for you all!! Thanks for sharing this!!
Wonderful story. Your family (new and old) all have such big open hearts. It's so lovely to see
Your brother looks more like your Grandpa. You made me giggle all the way through. Love this story and all the best to you all. 😊
What an incredible story, and so masterfully told. Gaby, you are such an inspiration. I have so many well wishes for you, and your big beautiful tapestry that is your family.
Great story,
thanks for sharing 🤗
This is so incredible, props to you and your whole family for your willingness to be so candid about it. Also reminds me of the new documentary “Three Identical Strangers” which is absolutely worth seeing.
Omg, summer 2017 my mom called me to tell me I had a surprise 35 year old brother that had found my mom through Facebook and a lot of sleuthing. It has been so weird and cool to talk to him and get to know him.
I love this! How awesome 💕