Eva Thomas is a Canadian First Nations (Walpole Island First Nation) filmmaker and screenwriter.
Thomas attended Arizona State University, where she studied Communication and Broadcasting. [1] She went on to study at the American Academy of Dramatic Arts in New York City, the Webber Douglas Academy of Dramatic Art in London, [2] and Capilano University. [3]
Thomas was initially interested in acting in Hollywood, but after realizing the limited number of roles available for Indigenous actors, she decided to become a script writer and editor instead. She went on to run the imagineNATIVE Features Lab, doing script editing. While there, she worked with Kaniehtiio Horn as a story editor and later executive producer on a project called Seeds. [2]
After completing the Harold Greenberg Fund's Indigenous Story Editing Mentorship, Thomas decided she would aim to create her own short film as a way to break into the feature film industry. [2]
Thomas worked as an associate producer on the 2021 film Night Raiders . [2]
In 2021, Thomas was chosen as one of five Indigenous women to participate in Women in View's Five in Focus: Indigenous program. [4]
In 2023, Thomas debuted her short film Redlights at the 2023 Toronto International Film Festival. [2] [5] The film stars Kaniehtiio Horn and Ellyn Jade, and its story was inspired by the Starlight Tours in Saskatoon and the 1991 film Thelma & Louise . [2] [5]
In September 2023, it was announced that Thomas would be co-directing and co-writing her first feature film, Aberdeen , alongside Ryan Cooper. The film, about an indigenous women who relocates to Winnipeg, stars Gail Maurice, Billy Merasty, Jennifer Podemski, Liam Stewart-Kanigan and Ryan Rajendra Black. [6] It premiered at the 2024 Toronto International Film Festival. [7]
Thomas has also filmed documentaries for the Walpole Island First Nation, and directed episodes of the CBC docuseries Still Standing , [2] [8] for which she won a Canadian Screen Award for Best Direction in a Factual Program or Series at the 12th Canadian Screen Awards in 2024. [9] She has also written for CTV's Shelved (2023) and CTV/APTN's Acting Good (2022). [8]
In November 2024, Thomas was announced as entering production on Nika and Madison , a feature-length expansion of Redlights which will be her full-length debut as a solo director. [10] It is slated to premiere in the Discovery program at the 2025 Toronto International Film Festival. [11]
Thomas is a member of the Walpole Island First Nation, [2] [5] and is also of Tohono O’odham, Cherokee and Scottish descent. [4] She is based in Toronto and Wallaceburg, Ontario. [8]
She is a dual citizen of Canada and the United States. [1]