- Born
- Birth nameToby William Kearton
- Nicknames
- Tobias
- T
- Height5′ 6½″ (1.69 m)
- Toby Kearton is a British director and screenwriter. His films focus on moral dilemmas, ethical choices in wartime and crisis situations. His shorts have screened worldwide, with selections at BAFTA and BIFA qualifying festivals. Toby's debut feature: Sweet Nothings is currently in post production.
Toby is a graduate of The New York Film Academy in Burbank, California. He first gained attention with his breakout short film Dissonance (2018), which premiered at the Court Métrage at the 71st Cannes Film Festival. He is known for his unique take on historical dramas of the short form with Kamerad (2024), set in no man's land during the First World War, The Little Picture (2018), set in occupied France during World War Two and The Dust Child (2018), set against the backdrop of the Vietnam War. Kearton has expressed interest in furthering his exploration of anti-war themes in a future feature length production.
Toby has displayed his versatility as a filmmaker, having written and directed character-centric stories with meaningful topics, with the veteran mental health PSA, Hidden Wounds (2022), the short film Pricks (2023), exploring what it means to live with Type 1 Diabetes and the documentary short Dick Dangerfield: Defending Drama, addressing the lack of funds in the creative arts. He has written and directed the pilot episode of the TV series Livin' with the Devil (2025) now available on demand.
Toby was mentored by Azhur Saleem as part of the Directors UK Inspire Mentorship Scheme. This led to an opportunity as shadow director on Series 2 of ITV's After the Flood (2024).
Toby's feature length directorial debut: Sweet Nothings is in currently post production. The film, a drama, romance, mystery, involves a man confronting secrets from his past the day before his wedding, set to release in 2027.
- IMDb mini biography by: Anonymous
- Related to wildlife photographer pioneer and filmmaker Cherry Kearton.
- Worked in Pre-Production of reality TV shows Tattoo Fixers (2015) and Gold Rush: White Water (2018).
- Directed Dissonance (2018) at the age of 19 which was granted the official selection at the Court Métrage at the 71st annual Cannes Film Festival in 2018.
- Received his first feature writing assignment conceiving the first two drafts of the screenplay titled 'Beneath The Eagle's Nest'. The script was re-written prior to, and during production. The finished film Wolves of War (2022) bears little resemblance to Kearton's original script.
- Celebrated the 50th Anniversary with the cast and crew of Jaws (1975) in June 2025 at filming location on Martha's Vineyard.
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