First Born Films is an independent production company founded in 2006 by Carey Born and Darren Heath. Based in London, we produce drama, comedy and documentary films, shorts and features.
Carey Born
Carey is an award-winning filmmaker with fifteen years in production, ten years as producer and seven years as producer/director. In 2002 she wrote and co-produced a short film, Shadow Man, which won a number of awards. Since then Carey has produced six and directed four other films. Most recently she wrote, produced and directed a science/art educational documentary commissioned by The Royal Society made for the RS and the V&A called The Curious Brain in the Museum. Together with the playwright Alli Smith, Carey has written a feature screenplay, and for FBF has two other projects in development.
Darren Heath
After reading philosophy at university and working in the City, where he was a media/IP lawyer for a number of years, Darren took a job as a writer and presenter of legal films. Following a collaboration on the short film Shadow Man, he and Carey formed First Born Films. His screenplay for Compartment, which became FBF’s first production, started life at the Bernard Kops writers’ workshop, which he attended from 2000. He has since written a play, several short stories and a sit-com pilot. He also regularly writes and produces audio discussion programmes for a legal publisher through corporate production company JurisProductions.
A man becomes obsessed by the sight of his own double in an Italian film from the early 1960s.
Funded by the BFI for BFI Shorts 2012
A young woman descends into a jazz club looking for her blind date organised through a dating agency. She is unnerved to find herself in a weird underworld where the clientele scrutinise her every move.
Love For Sale is a short silent comedy played out to a specially recorded version of the eponymous Cole Porter song.
Cast
- Ruth Gemmell
- Charlie Condou
- Emma Kershaw
- Lottie Bovingdon
- Javaad Malik
written & directed by
- Carey Born
produced by
- Carey Born
- Darren Heath (Executive Producer)
crew
- First Assistant Director: Ruaridh Webster
- Assistant Producer: Susannah Lyon
- Editor: Kel McKeown
- DoP: Tim O’Connell
- Production Designer: Pippa Nissen
- Costume Designer: Jo Wright
- Hair & Make-up Designer: Karen Beadle
- Music Producer: Jason Emberton (The Music Lounge)
- Art Director: Zoe Smith
- Stills Photographer: Stuart Chorley
- Production Assistant: James Ray-Leary
supporting cast
- Helen Canton
- Paul Clarvis
- Dave Green
- Rusty Hallett
- Sue Hargreaves
- Gordon Jackson
- Frances Lipson
- Henry Lowther
- Joe Morris
- Nicoletta Perdikos
- Chris Ruff
- Pete Saberton
- Geoffrey Taylor
- Carola Zentner
- Peter Zentner
music by
- Cole Porter (music rights by permission of Warner Chappell Music)
song performed by
- Emma Kershaw & Henry Lowther’s Still Waters Band
- Henry Lowther (trumpet)
- Paul Clarvis (drums)
- Pete Saberton (piano)
- Dave Green (double bass)
A little girl spies two men breaking into a derelict house. Fascinated by them, she brings herself to the men's attention and a friendship blossoms: but the little girl is unaware she may be crossing dangerous boundaries.
Made with Mustard Films
cast
- Wendy: Leah Carroll
- Pete: Liam Cunningham
- Mum: Julia Ford
- Johnny: Rob Jarvis
- Sister: Amber Noble
- Policeman: Alan Stocks
written by
- Carey Born
directed by
- Amanda Rudman
produced by
- Lisa Lake (for Mustard Films)
- Jeremy McWilliams (Executive Producer)
crew
- Cinematographer: Mary Farbrother
- First Assistant Director: Dan McGrath
- Art Director: Lesley Chenery
- Production & Costume Designer: Liz Ascroft
- Make-up Designer: Isabel While
- Sound Recordist/Editor: Rob Bourke
- Film Editor: Elen Pierce-Lewis
original music by
- Rob Lane
In a society driven by targets, a train guard must ensure his train stays on time or risk losing his job. As his troubled home life impinges on his work the pressure builds to a climax where he witnesses, via CCTV screen in the guards' compartment, an incident that spirals violently out of control.
cast
- George: Stuart Laing
- Chris: Stephen Bent
- Omar: Nitin Ganatra
- Laura: Lorraine Pilkington
- Steve: Charlie Condou
- Ben: Paul Danan
- Rob: Jonathan Finlay
written by
- Darren Heath
directed by
- Milan Babic
produced by
- Carey Born
- Mary-Claire Seiler
- Monika Braid
- Waclaw Wiszniewski
- Witold Solowiow (CinePol)
crew
- Cinematographer: Mariusz Palej
- First Assistant Director: Jaroslaw Marszewski
- Art Director: Tadeusz Kosarewicz
- Costume Designer: Frank Gallagher
- Sound Recordist: Tomas Belohradsky
- Sound Designer: Rich Martin
- Film Editing by: Kel McKeown
- Liz Webber
original music by
- David Braid
Neuroscientist Professor Uta Frith explores how the brain makes sense of art and discusses with her nine-year-old companion the psychology of how museums support learning and inspire creativity. Filmed in the Victoria and Albert Museum and commissioned by the Royal Society as part of its 350th anniversary celebrations.
cast
- Professor Uta Frith
- Amalie Heath-Born
written by
- Carey Born & Uta Frith
directed & produced by
- Carey Born
executive producers
- Darren Heath
- Joanne Madders
crew
- Editor: Blaise Johal
- DoP: Johan Bjorklund
- Stills Photography: Fiona Yaron-Field
- Second Camera: Aviv Yaron
- Sound Recording by: Jasmine Allodi
- Phil Bax
- DIT: James Marsden
- Sound Designer: Paul Frost
- Production Assistant: Mungo Coyne
original music by
- Julian Ferraretto
In Development
Cyborg : a documentary
Tomorrow Pamplona
Cassandra's Gift
Two English friends arrive in Florence eager to make the most of their last summer before university. As they settle in to Italian life – taking on au pair duties for a glamorous and high-powered couple with one young son – both girls soon realise that the wife is in a fragile mental state. Before long the girls find themselves at odds with each other and in over their heads.
Schtum
An act of euthanasia, witnessed by a young child, is suppressed within a powerful family and becomes the catalyst for a terrible sequence of events. A contemporary noir, Schtum centres on a close-knit community that guards a dangerous combination of secrets.
Our films have shown at dozens of festivals and won many awards:
AMPAS, Los Angeles, USA – screened for Best Live Action Short nominations
Anchorage International Film Festival (AIFF), Alaska, USA
Angel Film Festival, Islington, London, UK
Aspen Shorts Fest, USA - Best Direction; Best Cinematography
Athens (Ohio) Film Festival, USA
Atlanta Film Festival – Best Narrative Short
Austin International Film Festival, USA
BAFTA, UK – shortlisted for nomination for Best Short Film
BeFilm Underground Film Festival, New York, USA
Berlin British Shorts Film Festival, Germany
BIFAs British Independent Film Awards, UK - nominated for Best Short Film
BIFF Berkshire, Massachussetts Film Fest, USA
Black Maria Film Festival, New Jersey, USA - Director’s Citation
Brest Film Festival, France - shortlisted Best Short
Brisbane International Film Festival, Australia
British Film Week, Brussels, Belgium
Bucharest International Short Film Festival, Romania
Cannes Film Festival SFC, France
Cinema Tout Ecran International Film Festival, Geneva, Switzerland
Cinérail International Film Festival, Paris, France
Clermont-Férrand Film Festival & Market, France
Cork International Film Festival, Ireland
Edinburgh International Film Festival, UK
Filmstock International Film Fest, Luton, UK
FICM, Morelia International Film Festival, Mexico
FIPA – Biarritz, France
Florida Film Festival, USA
Foyle Film Festival, Northern Ireland, UK
GSFF Glasgow Film Festival, Scotland - nominated Bill Douglas Award for Best Short Film
Hamptons International Film Festival, USA
Interfilm International Short Film Festival, Berlin, Germany
Jameson Dublin International Film Festival, Ireland
KC Filmmakers’ Jubilee (CinemaJazz), Kansas City, USA
Koszalin Festival of Film Debuts, Poland
LFF London Film Festival, UK
Leeds International Film Festival, UK - Runner Up, Best British Short
London International Film Festival, UK
London Short Film Festival, UK
Los Angeles Short Film Festival (lashortsfest), USA
MIFF Melbourne International Film Festival, Australia
Montreal World Film Festival, Canada
NYFF New York Film Festival (at the Lincoln Center), USA
New York Independent Film Festival, USA
NYFilmFest in Los Angeles, USA
Palm Springs Film Festival, USA - 2nd Prize Best Short
Palm Springs International ShortFest, USA
Portland International Film Festival, Oregon, USA
Raindance Independent Film Festival, London, UK - Winner Best UK Short Film
Raindance Film Festival, London, UK - nominated for Best UK Short
ReelHeART International Film Fest, Toronto, Canada - Director’s Pick
Slamdance Film Festival, Utah, USA - Special Jury Mention for Short
Tampere International Short Film Festival, Finland
Telluride Film Festival, Colorado, USA
TCM Shorts Competition, London, UK - Special Commendation
Tous Courts Film Festival, Aix-en-Provence, France
UK Film Festival, London, UK
ZINEBI International Film Festival, Bilbao, Spain
Shadow Man screenplay – won script award sponsored by Time Out
Shadow Man, Compartment and Love For Sale are all distributed by Shorts International:
The Curious Brain in the Museum can be seen online at:
L'Assenza is distributed in the US by Fandor:
We are grateful to the following companies for their support:
Links:
We are, regrettably, only able to reply to contact made in response to requests posted on this page. Unless a position is advertised here, please assume that we are not looking for anyone at present.
Unfortunately we cannot accept any unsolicited material.
For all other communication please go to the next page.
Registered Office:
First Born Films Limited
5 Walden Lodge,
48 Wood Lane,
London N6 5UU
Tel: + 44 (0) 20 8348 7401
Fax: + 44 (0) 20 8340 4743