1 Steve Thomas Resume

STEVE THOMAS – FLYING CARPET FILMS DOCUMENTARY FILMOGRAPHY:

1. HOPE (2007 117 mins, 2008, 104 mins)

Website: http://www.hopedocumentary.com.au.

Distributor: Antidote Films (see http://antidotefilms.com.au/details.php?filmid=4360).

Synopsis: The story of SIEV X survivor Amal Basry.

Production Company: Flying Carpet Films.

Role: Co-Producer, Writer, Director, Narrator.

Film Festivals:

Harlem International Film Festival, 2010. New Hope Film Festival USA, 2010 (Nominated for Best Picture). Cairo Refugee Film Festival, 2009. UNHCR Film Festival, Tokyo, 2008. Melbourne International Film Festival, 2007. Australian Human Rights Film Festival, 2007. Cinema Release: Australian theatrical season in 7 capital cities – June/July 2008. Awards:

Best Social/Political Documentary - Australian Teachers of Media (ATOM) Awards, 2008. Finalist – Australian Directors Guild Awards (Best Feature Documentary), 2008. Finalist – Australian Human Rights Commission Awards, 2008. Study Guide:

Marriner, Katy, 2007, ‘Hope Study Guide’, Australian Teachers of Media. Download PDF at: http://www.hopedocumentary.com.au/hope/studyguide.htm.

Note: Hope is a recommended resource for VCE Sociology.

2. WELCOME TO WOOMERA (2004, 55 mins)

Distributor: Screen Australia via national Film & Sound Archive (see http://www.nfsa.gov.au/collection/film-australia-collection/program-sales/search-programs/program/?sn=8615).

Synopsis: The story of Australia’s infamous ‘rocket town’.

Production Company: Film Australia & Flying Carpet Films.

Role: Co-Producer, Writer, Director.

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Television Screenings:

ABC1, 10/11/2004, 9/1/2007, 13/4/2008 ABC2, 19/1/2006, 24/7/2006, 29/7/2006 Festivals & Invited Screenings:

Double Dialogues Conference – ‘On Space’, University of Otago, New Zealand, 2006. Pacific International Documentary Film Festival (FIFO), Tahiti, 2006.

Study Guide:

Stitson, Roger, 2004, ‘Welcome to Woomera Study Guide’, Film Australia. Download PDF at: http://www.nfsa.gov.au/collection/film-australia-collection/program-sales/search-programs/program/?sn=8615.

3. FAMILY FOIBLES (2001, Series: 5 x 27 mins)

Distributor: Ronin Films (see http://www.roninfilms.com.au/feature/622).

Synopsis: Five intimate stories about ‘family’ – what families do to and for each other.

Production Company: Flying Carpet Films.

Role: Series Producer, Episode Producer.

TV Screenings:

ABC TV 13/1/2003 weekly. Repeated 16/8/2006 weekly.

Festivals:

Real Life on Film Festival, Melbourne, 2002. Sydney International Film Festival, 2002. 21st Century Oz: New Australian Film, Berlin, 2002. Revelation Film Festival, Perth, 2002. Awards:

Real Life on Film Festival 2002 – for excellence in documentary making (Kim & Harley & the Kids). Finalist ATOM Awards 2002 - Best Short Form Documentary (Kim & Harley & the Kids). Finalist Dendy Awards 2002, Sydney International Film Festival - Ethnic Affairs Award (My Mother Nancy) and Best Documentary (Kim & Harley & the Kids). Study Guide:

Wilson, Nick, 2002, ‘Family Foibles Study Guide’, Australian Teachers of Media, Australian Screen Education, Issue 29. Download PDF at: http://www.roninfilms.com.au/video/0/0/622.html?words=Family+Foibles&searchby=title.

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4. LEAST SAID, SOONEST MENDED (1999, 52-mins)

See http://aso.gov.au/titles/documentaries/least-said-soonest-mended/

Distributor: Flying Carpet Films.

Synopsis: An adoption story focussing on the filmmaker’s own family.

Production Company: Flying Carpet Films.

Role: Producer, Writer, Director.

TV Screenings:

SBS TV, premiered 17/3/2000. Prime TV, New Zealand, 1/9/2000. Repeated.

Festivals & Invited Screenings:

Interrogating Trauma Conference, Murdoch University WA, 2008. Taiwan International Documentary Festival, 2000. Australian International Documentary Conference Festival, 2000. Nuevas Tendencias del Cine Documental, Mexico City, 2000. Awards:

United Nations Association of Australia (UNAA), Media Peace Award, 2000.

Study Guide

Tudball, Libby, 2001, ‘Least Said, Soonest Mended Study Guide’, Australian Screen Education, Issue 25, pp. 94–102. Download PDF at: http://www.enhancetv.com.au/shop/product.php?productid=12653796&cat=0&page=1.

5. ERRANDS OF MERCY (1998, 52-mins)

See http://aso.gov.au/titles/documentaries/errands-mercy/.

Distributor: Marcom Projects (see http://www.marcom.com.au/product_details.php?prod=6ANEM).

Synopsis: Socio-economic reform of the Melbourne Metropolitan Ambulance Service from the perspectives of ambulance workers, paramedics and management.

Production Company: Annamax Media.

Role: Writer, Director.

TV Screenings:

SBS TV ‘The Cutting Edge’ 8/9/1998. Repeated 9/1999.

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6. THE HILLMEN - A SOCCER FABLE (1996, 55mins)

See http://aso.gov.au/titles/documentaries/hillmen-soccer-fable/.

Distributor: December Films.

Synopsis: The adventures of a multicultural, junior soccer team.

Role: Writer, Director, Co-Producer.

TV Screenings:

SBS TV 'About Us', 24/7/1996. Repeated 15/12/1996.

Awards:

Australian Institute of Film (AFI) Award for Best TV Documentary, 1996. See http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u8iT-I_SBpo.

7. HAROLD (1994, 56mins)

See http://vimeo.com/1152527

See http://aso.gov.au/titles/documentaries/harold/.

Distributor: Open Channel, Flying Carpet Films.

Synosis: A biography of the late Harold Blair, opera singer and Aboriginal activist.

Production Company: Flying Carpet Films and Open Channel.

Role: Writer, Director.

TV Screenings:

ABC 'True Stories' 9/4/1995. Repeated 8/2/1998. NITV – Numerous repeat screenings between 2008-11.

Festivals: Opened the Margaret Mead Film Festival, New York, October 1995.

Awards:

Best Social Issues Documentary, Australian Teachers of Media (ATOM) Awards, 1995. Nominated for Best TV Documentary, Australian Film Institute (AFI) Awards, 1995. Bronze Plaque, Columbus Ohio Film & Video Festival, USA, 1995. Certificate of Merit, Chicago International Film Festival, USA, 1995.

8. BLACK MAN'S HOUSES (1992. 58 mins)

See http://vimeo.com/1152278.

Distributor: Ronin Films (see http://www.roninfilms.com.au/feature/794/black-mans-houses.html).

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Synopsis: The search by members of the Flinders Island Aboriginal community for the graves of their ancestors.

Production Company: Open Channel Productions.

Role: Writer, Director, Co-Producer.

TV Screenings:

ABC TV 'True Stories' 4/4/1993. Repeated 13/3/1995. NITV – Numerous repeat screenings between 2008-11.

Cinema Release: Carlton Moviehouse & AFI Cinema, Hobart March 1993.

Festivals:

Human Rights Arts and Film Festival, Melbourne, 2010. Bombay International Film Festival, 1994. St Petersburg International Non-Fiction Film Festival – ‘Message to Man’, 1994. Margaret Mead Film Festival, New York, 1993. Singapore International Film Festival, 1993. Hawaii International Film Festival – ‘When Strangers Meet’, 1993. Yamagata International Documentary Film Festival, 1993. Sydney International Film Festival, 1993. Melbourne International Film Festival, 1992. Other Festivals 1992–3, Earthpeace (Vermont, USA), Human Rights Watch (USA), Wurzburg (Germany). Awards:

Erwin Rado Award for Best Australian Short Film, Melbourne Film Festival, 1992. Best Social Issues Documentary, Australian Teachers of Media (ATOM) Awards, 1993. Best Documentary, 1993 Dendy Awards. Rouben Mamoulian Award, Sydney International Film Festival, 1993.

MAJOR DOCUMENTARY FILM AWARDS Australian Teachers of Media (ATOM) Award for Best Social Documentary:

Hope (2008), Harold (1995), Black Man’s Houses (1993).

United Nations Association of Australia, Media Peace Award:

Least Said, Soonest Mended (2000).

Australian Institute of Film (AFI) Award for Best TV Documentary:

The Hillmen – A Soccer Fable (1996).

Rouben Mamoulian Award: Black Man’s Houses (1993).

Dendy Award for Best Documentary (Sydney IFF): Black Man’s Houses (1993).

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Erwin Rado Award (Melbourne IFF): Black Man’s Houses (1992).

PUBLICATIONS

2012: Collaboration and ethics in documentary filmmaking – a case study’, New Review of Film and Television Studies (Journal), Routledge, UK.

2012: ‘Upfront Filmmaking – The Ethics of Documentary Relationships’, Metro, no. 171, pp. 80–84.

2010: Master of Film & Televison by Research Thesis: ‘Hope – towards an ethical framework of collaborative practice in documentary filmmaking’, University of Melbourne. See Digital Repository, UoM Library, Open Access URL: http://repository.unimelb.edu.au/10187/10111

2010: ‘Teaching Documentary Filmmaking: Reflections on Ten Years at the VCA’, Metro, no. 166, pp. 74–78.

2002: 'Whatever Happened to the Social Documentary?', Metro, no. 134, pp. 152–160*.

*Reprinted in: Cousins, M & McDonald, K (eds), 2006, Imagining Reality: The Faber Book of Documentary, Faber and Faber, London, pp. 419–426.

DOCUMENTARY TEACHING Victorian College of the Arts Film & TV School, University of Melbourne:

Full-time lecturer in Documentary: 1998–2009 Part-time lecturer in Documentary: 2012–present Professional Associations:

Australian Director’s Guild (since 1993).

Australian Film Institute (since 1990).

SPAA/ASDA Documentary Council (2002–2005).

National Tertiary Education Union (1999–2009).

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