You Don't Know My Name (2026): Cast, Story and Release Details

Prepared by Movies Dock Editorial

You Don't Know My Name follows filmmaker Tommy Franklin as he searches for the mother he was separated from at birth. His investigation reaches into adoption, incarceration, family separation and ancestral history while confronting systems that have kept crucial parts of his identity out of reach.

You Don't Know My Name is a 2026 English-language documentary directed by Tommy Franklin. At 1 hour and 55 minutes, it centers on a deeply personal search for identity and family history.

The film follows Franklin’s effort to learn more about his incarcerated mother and the ancestral bloodlines connected to his past. Its subject matter includes adoption, prison birth and the institutional barriers surrounding family separation.

You Don't Know My Name movie details

Story without spoilers

Separated from his incarcerated mother at birth, filmmaker Tommy Franklin begins searching for her identity and for the history that shaped his own. The investigation leads him toward previously hidden ancestral bloodlines and a life-changing truth.

As Franklin moves closer to answers, he must navigate systems that have made information difficult to access. The documentary’s story is therefore both a family search and an examination of the forces that can obscure a person’s origins.

What to expect

The supplied details point to a personal documentary focused on adoption, incarceration, family separation and social justice. Its central thread is an investigation into identity, supported by connections to Minneapolis, Minnesota, and New Orleans in the film’s listed keywords.

Viewers can expect the subject to be emotionally serious and rooted in questions of family history and institutional secrecy. The available information does not specify the film’s visual approach, structure or conclusion.

Cast and creative team

Tommy Franklin directs the film and appears as himself. The listed cast also includes Olivia Washington as Young Mother, Henry Hayes as Young Tommy and Alicia Roach as herself. No writers are credited in the supplied information.

• Olivia Washington as Young Mother
• Tommy Franklin as self
• Henry Hayes as Young Tommy
• Alicia Roach as self

Release and production context

You Don't Know My Name is listed as a 2026 documentary with a release date of October 3, 2026. It has a runtime of 1 hour and 55 minutes and is spoken in English. The supplied metadata does not identify a country or production company.

Movies Dock view

You Don't Know My Name is built around a clear and personal premise: the search for a mother, a family history and the identity that connects them. Its focus on adoption, prison birth and family separation gives the documentary a serious social context while keeping one individual’s search at the center.

Film data:
TMDB