Born Secret
Runtime: 19:49A filmmaker returns to his hometown that built the atomic bomb. There he meets the workers who created humanity's greatest weapon that now wrestle with their legacy, while their grandchildren inherit a world on the brink of nuclear catastrophe.
Director - Riley Fitchpatrick
Riley Fitchpatrick is a filmmaker and writer from Oak Ridge, Tennessee. After growing up surrounded by film and theater courtesy of his actor father, he studied filmmaking at the University of North Carolina School of the Arts. He is now based in Los Angeles working in the commercial and independent film space.
Directors Statement
My Great Grandfather was brought in to help plan the first foundations of Oak Ridge, TN, and my family has been here ever since. Growing up in Oak Ridge means that you’re inundated with the town’s history - built for a secret government project to create the world’s first atomic bombs. In the wake of Oppenheimer and resurging global conflict, nuclear war is returning to the forefront of culture and policy for the first time since the Cold War. Being in some ways a descendant of the Manhattan Project, I’ve found myself in a unique position to be able to speak with the people who actually built the bomb and brought that vision to life.
How do they feel about the world they unknowingly created? Do they think about their children and their children’s children? What do those kids think? By exploring the memories of the people who built the bomb along with the hopes and fears of their grandchildren, we hope to articulate a vision of the future - one that lives in the shadow of the bomb.
