The Production Company
Firstborn Studios was a Community Interest Company that grew out of Firstborn Creatives Ltd. Firstborn began life in 1999 with the production of a programme that was broadcast on HTV in 2000. Under the Bridge is a documentary about Bristol’s first major civic acknowledgement of its slaving past.
Rob Mitchell, is one of the directors of Firstborn, who produced the HTV programme (directed by Shawn Naphtali Sobers) and edited this new book over a decade later said.
“In 1999, there was little known about Bristol and slavery which led to all sort of myths and folklore developing about it. We all knew that this city had something to do with slavery but we were not sure what that really meant. Our programme Under The Bridge, which was broadcast in 2000, captured where Bristol was at that time with the city’ s first official acknowledgements and sharing of knowledge on the subject. We hope this book brings some of that journey the city has made in its understanding and civic conversations more up to date. Even after 2007, there is a lot of education still to be had on the subject, and we wanted to mature the debate in the city, so we are free to talk about it, with all is contradictions, and complexities, without falling back on un-informed stock arguments.”
Have and a closer look at some of our work.