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about us...

First Born Films is a London based independent production company set up by Carey Born and Darren Heath to make quality film and television, communicating bold and compelling stories with vision and flair.

Working with exciting new writing and directing talent as well as experienced creatives, the company is developing a number of original projects for the small and large screen.

Carey Born

Carey started her career in commercials before freelancing as a line producer on corporates and feature films. She set up First Born Films with Darren Heath in order to develop their own projects. Carey seeks out talent and source material, develops and packages FBF’s projects to raise finance and oversees production.

To date, Carey has produced or co-produced four fiction shorts, Shadow Man (Oscar-shortlisted), Compartment, Love For Sale and L’Assenza (BIFA-nominated), all of which have screened at international festivals including Cannes, New York, London and Telluride.

 

Darren Heath

Darren qualified as a lawyer at Lovells where he worked for a number of years in media and intellectual property. He left the city to become a writer and presenter of training films and podcasts. He has also worked as in-house lawyer for Orange, the Financial Times, the ACT and Somerset House, among others.

Darren formed FBF with Carey after they collaborated on the short film Shadow Man. He combines heading up FBF’s business affairs with writing for the screen and takes an active role as development producer.

our films

  • L'Assenza
  • Love For Sale
  • Shadow Man
  • Compartment
  • The Curious Brain in the Museum

L’Assenza






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

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Love For Sale

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.

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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)

Shadow Man

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

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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

Compartment

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.

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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

The Curious Brain in the Museum

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.

Royal Society Website

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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 progress

In Development

  • Cyborg : a documentary

  • Tomorrow Pamplona

  • Cassandra's Gift

  • Schtum

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.

Festivals/Awards

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

Distribution

Shadow Man, Compartment and Love For Sale are all distributed by Shorts International:

  • www.shortsinternational.com

The Curious Brain in the Museum can be seen online at:

  • Royal Society website
  • V&A Museum website

L'Assenza is distributed in the US by Fandor:

  • www.fandor.com

We are grateful to the following companies for their support:

  • ARRI Media
  • VMI
  • West Digital
  • Iiyama Computers
  • Antenna Music

Links:

  • Everyman Cinemas
  • Julian Ferraretto

contact

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
First Floor
85 Great Portland Street
London W1W 7LT

contact@firstbornfilms.co.uk

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