Born Secret
Documentary short · 2025 · 19 min
A filmmaker returns to his hometown of Oak Ridge, Tennessee, the secret city built to make the atomic bomb. There he meets the workers who made the weapon, while their grandchildren inherit a world still on the edge of nuclear catastrophe.
Built from present-day interviews, family home video and the photographs of Manhattan Project photographer Ed Westcott.
Awards
Best Short Documentary, Lighthouse International Film Festival, 2026
Best Editing, Ouray International Film Festival, 2026
Best Film, Martinsburg Apollo Film Festival, 2026
Best Film, Hoboken Docs, 2025
Best Film Made in Tennessee, Film Fest Knox, 2025
Festivals
True/False, IFFBoston, Ouray, Lighthouse, New Filmmakers LA, deadCenter, Davey Fest, Oak Cliff, Middlebury New Filmmakers, Filmfort, Full Bloom, Chagrin, Macon, Martinsburg Apollo, El Paso, International Uranium Film Festival (2026); Window Rock, Carrboro (2025)
Directed by
Riley Fitchpatrick
Executive producer
Derek Cianfrance
Produced by
Grant Conversano, Adam Conversano
Cinematography
Katie Mlinek
Additional cinematography
Grant Conversano
Edited by
Adam Conversano
Music
Robert Aiki Aubrey Lowe
Sound design
Doug Moss
Color
Orlando Wimberly III