Born Equal

Colour, HD CAM
United Kingdom, 2006, 100 min
Section: Horizons

Synopsis

As in his previous films, Savage takes a critical look at the delicate theme of contemporary England, on this occasion examining social inequality. He originally planned a film about homelessness, but gradually found himself uncovering the problem as a serious hidden predicament of society. Here, too, he spent a lot of time studying the environment: he visited countless shelters and temporary accommodation facilities and assimilated the stories of dozens of desperate people. He set his story in a shelter for the homeless and other social outcasts seeking temporary asylum, where the lives of several characters experiencing deep crisis come together. Pregnant Michelle and her little daughter sought refuge from a violent husband, Robert has recently been released from prison, and journalist Yemi and his wife and child had to leave their native Nigeria in fear of their lives. Wealthy 40-year-old prospective father Mark (Colin Firth) feels shame and guilt in the face of those who have not shared his fortune in life. One day he starts a job as a “street worker”.

About the director

Dominic Savage (b. 1962, Kent) started in film in 1973 with a child’s role in Stanley Kubrick’s film Barry Lyndon. He graduated from the National Film and Television School in 1991 (specialising in documentary filmmaking) with the film Fly Me to the Moon. As a leading documentarist he earned recognition for his films The Outsiders (1999), Rough Males and The Complainers. Apart from documentaries for Channel 4, he also created the TV films Nice Girl (2000) and When I Was 12 (2001) for the BBC, based on his own screenplays – both won BAFTA awards. In the section Focus on British Film at last year’s Karlovy Vary festival, he introduced the film Out of Control (2002), awarded at the Edinburgh IFF as Best New British Feature. His feature debut Love + Hate (2005) was also screened in Karlovy Vary.