Kyle Thomas | |
---|---|
Born | Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada | 23 June 1983
Alma mater | Concordia University |
Occupation(s) | Film director, screenwriter, producer, actor |
Years active | 2007–present |
Website | northcountrycinema |
Kyle Thomas (born 23 June 1983) is a Canadian screenwriter, director, producer, and actor. His first feature film, The Valley Below , premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival in 2014. It garnered two Canadian Screen Award nominations in the categories of Best Supporting Actor for Kris Demeanor and Best Original Song for Dan Mangan's "Wants". [1] The film received largely positive reviews from the Canadian media, including The Globe and Mail and the National Post , who called the film a "superb first feature". [2]
Thomas was born in Vancouver, British Columbia, and raised in Calgary, Alberta.[ citation needed ] He began making films with the Calgary Society of Independent Filmmakers in his teenage years before attending Concordia University's Mel Hoppenheim School of Cinema in Montreal in the early 2000s. After completing his BFA, he returned to Calgary to establish the North Country Cinema media arts collective in 2005. [3]
Thomas is a founding member of North Country Cinema, along with filmmakers Alexander Carson and Nicholas Martin, whom he met at the Mel Hoppenheim School of Cinema at Concordia University in Montreal, Quebec. [3] Through North Country Cinema, Thomas has focused on producing director-driven film and video content, and has created award-winning works [4] that have screened at major international festivals, including the Toronto International Film Festival [5] and SXSW. [6] Thomas' recent films have portrayed neo-realist narratives concerned with intimate, personal stories depicting life in rural Alberta. Following the announcement that his first feature film The Valley Below would be funded by Telefilm Canada, he was declared one of "10 Canadians to Watch at Cannes" in 2013. [7]
Thomas plays the role of Danny in North Country Cinema's second feature film O, Brazen Age written and directed by Alexander Carson. The film premiered at the Vancouver International Film Festival in 2015. [8]
A film festival is an organized, extended presentation of films in one or more cinemas or screening venues, usually in a single city or region. Increasingly, film festivals show some films outdoors. Films may be of recent date and, depending upon the festival's focus, can include international and domestic releases. Some film festivals focus on a specific filmmaker, genre of film, or subject matter. Several film festivals focus solely on presenting short films of a defined maximum length. Film festivals are typically annual events. Some film historians, including Jerry Beck, do not consider film festivals as official releases of the film.
Telefilm Canada is a Crown corporation reporting to Canada's federal government through the Minister of Canadian Heritage. Headquartered in Montreal, Telefilm provides services to the Canadian audiovisual industry with four regional offices in Vancouver, British Columbia; Toronto, Ontario; Montreal, Quebec; and Halifax, Nova Scotia. The primary mandate of the corporation is to finance and promote Canadian productions through its various funds and programs.
The Hot Docs Canadian International Documentary Festival is the largest documentary festival in North America. The event takes place annually in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The 27th edition of the festival took place online throughout May and June 2020. In addition to the annual festival, Hot Docs owns and operates the Hot Docs Ted Rogers Cinema, administers multiple production funds, and runs year-round screening programs including Doc Soup and Hot Docs Showcase.
François Miron is a French-Canadian experimental filmmaker also working in documentary and fiction.
The Mel Hoppenheim School of Cinema, a division of the Faculty of Fine Arts at Concordia University, is a film school located in Montreal, Quebec. Informally known as MHSoC, the school accepts around 250 students a year for programs in animation, film production and film studies. It is the largest and oldest university-based centre for the study of film, television and media in Canada.
North Country Cinema is a Canadian media arts collective based in Calgary, Alberta, Canada.
Kris Demeanor is a Canadian poet, musician and actor, who received a Canadian Screen Award nomination for Best Supporting Actor at the 3rd Canadian Screen Awards for his performance in the film The Valley Below.
The Valley Below is a Canadian dramatic film, released in 2014. The feature film debut of filmmaker Kyle Thomas, the film consists of four interrelated stories taking place in the badlands around Drumheller, Alberta. The film was produced by the North Country Cinema media arts collective based out of Calgary, Alberta.
O, Brazen Age is a Canadian dramatic film, completed in 2015. The feature-length debut by writer/director Alexander Carson, the film premiered at the 2015 Vancouver International Film Festival in September 2015.
Elle-Máijá Apiniskim Tailfeathers is a Blackfoot and Sámi filmmaker, actor, and producer from the Kainai First Nation in Canada. She has won several accolades for her film work, including multiple Canadian Screen Awards.
Alexander (Sandy) Carson is a Canadian filmmaker.
Chloé Robichaud is a Canadian director best known for her debut film Sarah Prefers to Run. The film premiered at the 2013 Cannes Film Festival in the Un Certain Regard section.
Benjamin Ross Hayden is a Métis Canadian film director, writer, producer, and actor. His debut feature film, The Northlander, was the first ever Telefilm Canada micro-budget selected for Perspective Canada program at the Cannes Film Festival, and premiered at the 40th Montreal World Film Festival in 2016. The film received a wide theatrical release in Canada during fall 2016. He is also the youngest film director in Canada to be accepted into the Telefilm micro-budget program, and from that is the only film director to ever to receive a theatrical release in Landmark Cinemas.
Cameron Macgowan, is a Canadian writer, director, and producer. His first feature film as a Writer/Director Red Letter Day premiered at the Cinequest Film Festival in 2019. The film was a hit on the international genre film festival circuit with screenings at London FrightFest Film Festival, Screamfest Horror Film Festival, Fantaspoa, Brussels International Fantastic Film Festival and more. The film received positive critical attention, including Screen Anarchy saying "It plays like a modern mash-up of David Cronenberg's Shivers (film) and Kinji Fukasaku's Battle Royale (film)." and renowned English journalist Kim Newman saying "A terrific premise, ferociously well worked out, and an excellent performance from Dawn Van de Schoot as an unwilling tiger mommy.".
Deragh Campbell is a Canadian actress and filmmaker. She is known for her acclaimed performances in independent Canadian cinema. Her collaborations with filmmaker Sofia Bohdanowicz—Never Eat Alone (2016), Veslemøy's Song (2018), MS Slavic 7 (2019), and Point and Line to Plane (2020)—have screened at film festivals internationally. She has also featured in two of Kazik Radwanski's films, How Heavy This Hammer (2015) and Anne at 13,000 Ft. (2019), both of which premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival.
Meryam Joobeur is a Tunisian Canadian film director. She is most noted for her 2018 short film Brotherhood (Ikhwène), which won the Toronto International Film Festival Award for Best Canadian Short Film at the 2018 Toronto International Film Festival and was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Live Action Short Film at the 92nd Academy Awards.
Range Roads is a Canadian drama film, directed by Kyle Thomas and released in 2021 by Calgary-based production company North Country Cinema. The film stars Alana Hawley Purvis as Frankie King, an actress who has been estranged from her family for many years but is returning home following the death of her parents, who must navigate continued tensions between her and her brother Grayson.
Carol Nguyen is a Vietnamese Canadian filmmaker. She is most noted for her films No Crying at the Dinner Table, which was a Canadian Screen Award nominee for Best Short Documentary at the 8th Canadian Screen Awards in 2020, and Nanitic, which won the Share Her Journey award at the 2022 Toronto International Film Festival.