May Miles Thomas

Last updated

May Miles Thomas
BornJanuary 1959 (age 65–66)
Glasgow, Scotland
Occupation(s) filmmaker, film director, screenwriter
AwardsNipkow Fellow, NESTA Fellow, Pioneer to the Life of the Nation
Website www.elementalfilms.eu

May Miles Thomas is a film director and screenwriter.

Contents

Biographical details

Born in Glasgow, May Miles Thomas was educated at Hillhead High School and the Glasgow School of Art, graduating in design and photography.

May Miles Thomas has worked as production designer, writer, editor, director of photography, producer and director. [1] Her career in television and filmmaking began in the mid-1980s at BBC Television, where she moved from production design to directing music and arts documentaries. [2] As a freelancer, she progressed to making music videos and commercials.

In 1995 she founded the production company, Elemental Films. [1]

Her script, The Beauty of the Common Tool, directed by Owen Thomas, was awarded funding in the first year of the British Screen/Scottish Television short film scheme, Prime Cuts.

In 1996 Miles Thomas became a Fellow of the Nipkow Programm, Berlin, where she wrote the screenplays for Ringing the True and One Life Stand. [3] In 1997 she was selected by the European Film Academy to attend A Sunday in the Country at Ebeltoft, Denmark. [1]

In 1998 she attended the Arista Screenwriting Workshop in Hamburg, Germany.

Since the late 1990s Miles Thomas has worked as a writer and director of feature films. She is married to Owen Thomas and lives in Glasgow, Scotland. [4]

The British Film Institute Filmography has identified May Miles Thomas as one of the 10 most prolific British women directors. [5]

Films

Source: [6]

One Life Stand

In 1999 Miles Thomas wrote and directed her debut feature film, One Life Stand.

Shot on miniDV in black and white on a small budget, the film is an exemplar for micro-budget production and was the first British digital feature film. [4] Miles Thomas is credited as screenwriter, director of photography, director and editor. The film was favourably reviewed, [7] won five Scottish BAFTAs [8] and was selected for numerous film festivals including Rotterdam International Film Festival, New York Silicon Alley, Dublin International Film Festival, Edinburgh International Film Festival, HOF International Film Festival, Hamptons International Film Festival, Galway Film Fleadh, Bergen International Film Festival, Raindance Film Festival and Festival International de Film de Femmes.

Solid Air

In 2003 Miles Thomas followed up One Life Stand with her second feature film Solid Air starring Brian McCardie, Maurice Roëves, Kathy Kiera Clarke and Gary Lewis. [9] Financed by Momentum Pictures, Scottish Screen and the Glasgow Film Office, the film was shot on location in Glasgow in 2002.

Solid Air premiered at the Edinburgh International Film Festival in 2003 and was selected for numerous other festivals including Cinequest, Mannheim International Film Festival, Festroia International Film Festival, Gijón International Film Festival, Festival International de Film de Femmes and Britspotting Berlin.

The Devil's Plantation

In 2007 Miles Thomas won the Scottish Arts Council Creative Scotland Award [10] to create The Devil's Plantation, [11] an interactive website and multi-media project that reveals the secret geometry and ancient paths of Glasgow. [12] [13]

In 2013 the project was re-worked as an iOS Application and a feature film for presentation at the Glasgow Film Festival and cinemas throughout Scotland. [14]

Voyageuse

In 2014 Miles Thomas began development of Voyageuse, a feature film based on the life of her late mother-in-law, Erica Thomas. Born in Hungary in 1933, Erica came to the UK in 1938, was a scientist during the cold war [15] and died in 2004. Shot in 2016 in the UK, Spain and the United States, the film stars Dame Siân Phillips. Completed in 2017, the film was first screened publicly at the Glasgow Film Festival in March 2018. [4] [16]

Awards

See also

Cinema of Scotland

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jason Connery</span> British actor (born 1963)

Jason Joseph Connery is an Italian-born British actor and director. He is the son of Sean Connery and Diane Cilento. On screen, he is best known for appearing in the third series of the ITV drama series Robin of Sherwood in 1986. He took over the main role after Michael Praed's character was killed off at the end of the second series.

Veronica "Ronni" Jane Ancona is a British actress, comedian, impressionist and writer best known for The Big Impression, which she co-wrote and starred in and was, for four years, one of BBC One's top-rated comedy programmes, winning numerous awards, including a BAFTA in 2003. Ancona also starred in the first series of the BAFTA-winning ITV series The Sketch Show. Ancona has appeared in the BAFTA-winning Last Tango in Halifax since its creation in 2012. She is a co-director, alongside Sally Phillips and Nick Hamson, of the production company Captain Dolly.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Edinburgh International Film Festival</span> Movie festival in Scotland

The Edinburgh International Film Festival (EIFF), established in 1947, is the world's oldest continually running film festival. EIFF presents both UK and international films, in all genres and lengths. It also presents themed retrospectives and other specialized programming strands.

Hugh Hudson was an English film director. He was among a generation of British directors who would begin their career making documentaries and television commercials before going on to have success in films.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">David Mackenzie (director)</span> British film director

David Hugh Mackenzie is a Scottish film director and co-founder of the Glasgow-based production company Sigma Films. He has made ten feature films including Young Adam (2003), Hallam Foe (2007), Perfect Sense (2011) and Starred Up (2013). In 2016, Mackenzie's film Hell or High Water premiered at Cannes and was theatrically released in the United States in August. The same year he executive produced Damnation, a TV pilot for Universal and USA Network. Mackenzie also directed Outlaw King (2018), a historical film for Netflix. Mackenzie and his films have been described as not fitting neatly into any particular genre or type.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Phyllis Logan</span> Scottish actress (born 1956)

Phyllis Logan is a Scottish actress, widely known for her roles as Lady Jane Felsham in Lovejoy (1986–1993) and Mrs Hughes in Downton Abbey (2010–2015). She won the BAFTA Award for Most Promising Newcomer for the 1983 film Another Time, Another Place and was nominated for BAFTA Award for Best Actress in a Leading Role for the same film. Her other film appearances include Secrets & Lies (1996), Shooting Fish (1997), Downton Abbey (2019) and Misbehaviour (2020).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gary Lewis (actor)</span> Scottish actor (born 1957)

Gary Stevenson, better known as Gary Lewis, is a Scottish actor. He has had roles in films such as Billy Elliot (2000), Gangs of New York (2002), Joyeux Noël (2005) and Eragon (2006), as well as major roles in the television docudrama Supervolcano, the Starz series Outlander, and the BBC One thriller Vigil.

<i>Red Road</i> (film) 2006 film by Andrea Arnold

Red Road is a 2006 psychological thriller film directed by Andrea Arnold and starring Kate Dickie, Tony Curran, Martin Compston, and Natalie Press. It tells the story of a CCTV security operator who observes through her monitors a man from her past. It is named after, and partly set at, the Red Road Flats in Balornock, Glasgow, Scotland, which were the tallest residential buildings in Europe at the time they were built. It was shot largely in a Dogme 95 style, using handheld cameras and natural light. The Observer polled several filmmakers and film critics who voted it as one of the best British films in the last 25 years.

<i>American Cousins</i> 2003 American film

American Cousins is a 2003 romantic comedy film directed by Don Coutts and starring Danny Nucci, Gerald Lepkowski, Shirley Henderson, Vincent Pastore, Dan Hedaya, Russell Hunter, Olegar Fedoro, and Stevan Rimkus. The plot is about a Scots-Italian fish and chip shop owner who gives refuge to his Mafia relatives when they go on the run. It was voted one of the top three Scottish films of all time by readers of The List magazine.

Scotland has produced many films, directors and actors.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sigma Films</span>

Sigma Films is a film production company based in Glasgow, Scotland. The company was formed in 1996 by Gillian Berrie, David Mackenzie and Alastair Mackenzie – a producer, director and actor respectively. Over the last twenty years the company has been responsible for film releases including Starred Up (2013), Under the Skin (2013), Perfect Sense (2011), Hallam Foe (2007), Red Road (2006), Young Adam (2003) and Dear Frankie (2004). In 2017, Sigma began production on big-budget historical epic Outlaw King for Netflix.

Sally El-Hosaini is a Welsh-Egyptian BAFTA nominated film director and screenwriter.

Anthony Wonke is a film director. He is an Emmy and triple BAFTA winning director and an Oscar nominated and Emmy winning executive producer. He has also won, amongst other awards, the Prix Italia, Peabody, Grierson and RTS for his films. Wonke is known for his original feature documentaries Ronaldo, Being AP, Fire in the Night and The Battle for Marjah as well as his documentary series The Tower: A Tale of Two Cities. Wonke's work ranges across a variety of genres always highlighted by intelligence, visual flair and emotional insight. His work has been shown at film festivals in the US, Canada, the Far East and the UK, as well as being televised on BBC 1, BBC 2, Channel 4 and HBO.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Michael Ferns</span> Scottish film director and screenwriter

Michael Ferns is a Scottish film director and screenwriter. He is best known for his debut feature film Kirk about the life of Reverend Robert Kirk of Aberfoyle. The film won the 'Best Independent Feature' at the Festival of Fantastic Films and also earned Ferns the 'Best Director' award at the 2010 British Academy Scotland New Talent Awards.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chris Quick</span> Scottish Filmmaker

Chris Quick is a Scottish editor and producer of independent films. His editing credits includes Autumn Never Dies, In Search of La Che, Mountain and The Greyness of Autumn which also marked his directorial debut. In July 2019, he became the director of the Glasgow Filmmakers Alliance

Simone Smith is a Scottish film director and visual artist from Glasgow. Her independent short film SLAP was nominated for a BAFTA in 2019, and her film RED earned her the Best Editor accolade at the 2013 British Academy Scotland New Talent Awards. Smith's latest short film THE MOBIUS TRIP premiered at the Glasgow Short Film Festival in March 2023, and won the Jury Special Mention award for its "radicalism", and "strong adventurous cinematic vision". Official selections include Academy-qualifying Hollyshorts Film Festival, Edinburgh International Film Festival, Chicago Underground Film Festival and Encounters Film Festival. Further notable wins include the UK Special Mention at Encounters International Film Festival, Best Film at Torino Underground Cinefest, Best Experimental at Arizona Underground, the Grand Jury Award at Chicago Underground Film Festival, and longlisted for Best British Short at the British Independent Film Awards. She was named a Rising Star by Screen International and has two feature films in development with BFI Network and Screen Scotland: IT'S TOO LATE YOU CAN'T SAVE ME and UNTIL SHE BLEEDS.

John McPhail is a Scottish film director and screenwriter.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gillian Berrie</span> Scottish film producer

Gillian Berrie is a Scottish film producer and co-founder of the Glasgow-based production company Sigma Films with director David Mackenzie.

Will Anderson is a Scottish-born film animator, living and working in Edinburgh, best known for his award-winning short animation The Making of Longbird.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Anthony Baxter (filmmaker)</span> English documentary filmmaker and journalist

Anthony William James Baxter is a British documentary director and producer. He is known for his documentary films Eye of the Storm, Flint: Who Can You Trust?, You've Been Trumped and A Dangerous Game.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 "In a feature length career". The Herald. Glasgow. 25 January 2010. Retrieved 27 July 2015.
  2. ↑ "Bergen International Film Festival". Archived from the original on 2 May 2020. Retrieved 6 September 2008.
  3. ↑ "Nipkow Programm Participants". Archived from the original on 27 November 2014. Retrieved 13 October 2017.
  4. 1 2 3 Synnot, Siobhan (11 March 2018). "Secrets from the grave" . The Sunday Times. p. 28. ISSN   0956-1382 . Retrieved 17 March 2018.
  5. ↑ "BFI Top 20 Women Directors". British Film Institute Filmography. 9 December 2018. Archived from the original on 30 October 2020.
  6. ↑ "British Film Council Directory". Archived from the original on 10 November 2006. Retrieved 6 September 2008.
  7. ↑ Romney, Jonathan (26 August 2000). "Guardian newspaper article". The Guardian. London. Retrieved 6 September 2008.
  8. ↑ Hunter, Alan (27 November 2000). "One Life Stand sweeps board at Scottish BAFTAs". Screen. Retrieved 17 March 2018.
  9. ↑ "British Film Council Directory". Archived from the original on 29 August 2007. Retrieved 6 September 2008.
  10. ↑ "Creative Scotland Award Project Details". Archived from the original on 10 October 2007. Retrieved 6 September 2008.
  11. ↑ "The Devil's Plantation" . Retrieved 6 September 2008.
  12. ↑ Peter Ross (28 November 2010). "Interview: May Miles Thomas, filmmaker". The Scotsman. Edinburgh, Scotland. Retrieved 27 July 2015.
  13. ↑ "City's Da Vinci Code Wins £30,000". The Sunday Herald. Glasgow. 8 March 2007. Retrieved 6 September 2008.
  14. 1 2 "Cineworld Audience Award 2013" . Retrieved 13 October 2017.
  15. ↑ Burnside, Anna (28 February 2018). "Mother-in-law's stash in the attic inspires woman to tell her amazing life story". Daily Record. Retrieved 17 March 2018.
  16. ↑ Harkness, Alistair (25 March 2018). "Glasgow Film Festival round-up". The Scotsman. Retrieved 17 March 2018.
  17. ↑ "Interview with Netribution" . Retrieved 6 September 2008.
  18. 1 2 "Creative Scotland feature". Archived from the original on 25 May 2008. Retrieved 6 September 2008.
  19. ↑ "Nesta Press Information". Archived from the original on 4 August 2008. Retrieved 6 September 2008.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.