Talented and up and coming film maker Michael Thomas impressed me with his short film "Don't Go into The Basement" which has picked up several film festival awards. I look forward to seeing what comes out of the mind of this young story teller in the future. We had the opportunity of interviewing Michael for the Australian Short Film Network Journal so we could discuss all things movie related.
Hi Michael, welcome to the Film Network Blog
MT – Thanks for giving me this opportunity!
When did you realise that you wanted to make films?
MT - I realized when I was around ten years old. I started out being a young horror nerd and would play around with making my own practical effects and then filming them. I found soon enough that I was enjoying directing the videos around these effects more, and I soon began to realize my passion was in storytelling.
(STILL FROM KYLE)
What is your favourite Australian film?
MT – For as much as I love Australian classics like Priscilla and Muriels Wedding, I think my favourite has to be Sam Byrnes The Loved Ones. I love ‘Ozploitation’ cinema, and this film had a great impact on me and broadened my horizons as to what an Australian film could be.
What is your favourite genre of film?
MT - I have a great love for horror and sci-fi, and any mix of these genres with others. I think both horror and sci-fi allow for some amazing transgressive and thought provoking themes in cinema, in a way that other genres can’t always pull off.
(STILL FROM KYLE)
What are some of the main obstacles you have encountered in the Australian film industry?
MT- I’m still so fresh in the industry that I feel my biggest obstacles are yet to come. At this point, I think my biggest obstacles were simply trying to convince people to take a chance on me, and prove that I can be a capable director to the right people. I graduated my film degree with honours last year, and so my current obstacle is me trying to get my next project made independently, finding the right people and essentially taking my first step into the industry as a sole creative.
Can you tell us about your work so far? And what you are working on at the moment?
MT- With each of my works so far, I’ve always aspired to explore new areas as a director- and this includes genre. My first short film ‘Kyle’ which did fairly well on the festival circuit was a drama about a young boy making friends with a burglar that has broken into his home, only for some dark secrets to come about. I made ‘Don’t Go Into The Basement’ last year, which was a short made in conjunction with my honours thesis which analyzed horror genre cinema and what it means for audience and societal catharsis.
I have finished my next script ‘Burning the Ashes’, which I am now trying to secure funding for. It’s a drama inspired by Aronofsky and Lynch films like ‘mother!’ and ‘Mulholland Drive’, it concerns an elderly woman who after the death of her husband, realizes that she has been trapped in an abusive marriage. I wont say any more on this for now, hoping to have this one in production by the end of the year!
(STILL FROM DON'T GO INTO THE BASEMENT)
What advice can you give to aspiring film makers?
MT- At this point, the only advice I can give that has truly worked for me is to listen to criticism and not get defensive when someone critiques your work. Too often I see film students who can’t take criticism with their scripts, and end up making a bad film because of it. I admit this used to be me, too. But I found after taking a step back, taking time to consider the points people were making and critically think about why it may or may not make sense for a script, that I’m much happier with the work I’ve put out since.
In an ideal world where would you like to be in 5 years?
(STILL FROM DON'T GO INTO THE BASEMENT)
MT- Ideally, I’d like to either have completed, or be in production of my first feature film.
Why is film so important to you?
MT- Film is important to me because of how it helped shape my imagination and love of storytelling from a young age. Some of my favourite memories are of watching movies like The Terminator for the first time- having my mind opened up to a world full of possibilities where anything is possible.
(STILL FROM DON'T GO INTO THE BASEMENT)
What is the last movie you watched or series you binged?
MT- I recently binge watched ‘The Good Place’, finished it in about 3 or 4 days, actually- I’ve never seen a such a great ‘feel-good’ comedy show with that amount of creativity and imagination, whilst also exploring deeply human themes. I also re-watched the original ‘Carrie’ from 1976 recently, hadn’t seen it in a few years and was so excited to re-live that infamous prom.
Where can our readers find you?
MT – I don’t currently have a social media page set up for myself. However, my latest short film ‘Don’t Go Into the Basement’ is still on it’s festival run and you can find updates on it via the facebook page. https://www.facebook.com/dontgointothebasement
Thank you for talking with us Michael.
MT - Thank you for having me!
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