Thyrone Tommy is a

Canadian Canadians () are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of their being ''C ...

film director and screenwriter. After writing and directing the

short film A short film is a film with a low running time. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) defines a short film as "an original motion picture that has a running time of not more than 40 minutes including all credits". Other film o ...

Mariner A sailor, seaman, mariner, or seafarer is a person who works aboard a watercraft as part of its crew, and may work in any one of a number of different fields that are related to the operation and maintenance of a ship. While the term ''sailor' ...

'' (2016), Tommy received acclaim for his work on the feature film ''

Learn to Swim ''Learn to Swim'' is a Canadian drama film written by Thyrone Tommy and Marni Van Dyk and directed by Tommy in his feature-length directorial debut. The film centres on a stormy romantic relationship between Dezi ( Thomas Antony Olajide) and Sel ...

'' (2021), both of which premiered at the

Toronto International Film Festival The Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF, often stylized as tiff) is one of the most prestigious and largest publicly attended film festivals in the world. Founded in 1976, the festival takes place every year in early September. The organi ...

. In 2023, he received a

Canadian Screen Award The Canadian Screen Awards () are awards given for artistic and technical merit in the film industry recognizing excellence in Canadian film, English-language television, and digital media ( web series) productions. Given annually by the Academy ...

nomination for directing an episode of the

web series A web series (also known as webseries, short-form series, and web show) is a series of short scripted or non-scripted online videos, generally in episodic form, released on the Internet (i.e. World Wide Web), which first emerged in the late 1 ...

Revenge of the Black Best Friend ''Revenge of the Black Best Friend'' is a Canadian comedy web series, which premiered in 2022 on CBC Gem. Created by Amanda Parris, the series stars Oluniké Adeliyi as Dr. Toni Shakur, a self-help guru who specializes in helping Black actors who l ...

''.

Career

Tommy first attracted acclaim for his short film ''

'', which was named to the

's annual year-end

Canada's Top Ten Canada's Top Ten is an annual honour, compiled by the Toronto International Film Festival to identify and promote the year's best Canadian films."Canada's Top Ten awards will honour excellence in Canadian cinema". ''Welland Tribune'', November 23, ...

list of the year's best Canadian short films in 2016,"TIFF announces lineup for Canada's Top 10 Film Festival"

CBC News CBC News is the division of the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation responsible for the news gathering and production of news programs on the corporation's English-language operations, namely CBC Television, CBC Radio, CBC News Network, and CBC ...

, December 7, 2016. and was the winner of the

Lindalee Tracey Award The Lindalee Tracey Award is an annual film award, presented in memory of Canadian documentary filmmaker Lindalee Tracey to emerging filmmakers whose works reflect values of social justice and a strong personal point of view."Award named for filmm ...

in 2017. Tommy is an alumnus of the

Canadian Film Centre The Canadian Film Centre (CFC) is a charitable organization founded in 1988 by filmmaker Norman Jewison in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Originally launched as a film school, today it provides training, development and advancement opportunities for ...

's film program, graduating in 2017. Tommy's debut feature film, ''

'', premiered at the

2021 Toronto International Film Festival The 2021 Toronto International Film Festival, the 46th event in the Toronto International Film Festival series, was held from September 9 to 18, 2021.Barry Hertz"TIFF planning ‘substantially bigger’ 2021 film festival compared to last year’ ...

.Rebecca Rubin
"Toronto Film Festival Unveils Contemporary World Cinema and Discovery Lineup"
''

Variety Variety may refer to: Arts and entertainment Entertainment formats * Variety (radio) * Variety show, in theater and television Films * ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont * ''Variety'' (1935 film), ...

'', July 28, 2021. The film received positive reviews from critics, was a nominee for the

DGC Discovery Award DGC can refer to: Businesses and organizations * Darlton Gliding Club, Nottinghamshire, England * Daybreak Game Company, an American video game developer * Delhi Golf Club, Delhi, India * Deutsche Gesellschaft für Chronometrie, a German organiz ...

at the 2021

Directors Guild of Canada The Directors Guild of Canada (DGC; ) is a Canadian labour union representing more than 5,500 professionals from 48 different occupations in the Canadian film and television industry. Founded in 1962, the DGC represents directors, editors, assist ...

awards, and was named to TIFF's annual year-end

list for 2021. In 2022, the film was acquired for release on

Netflix Netflix is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service. The service primarily distributes original and acquired films and television shows from various genres, and it is available internationally in multiple lang ...

by Ava Duvernary's distribution company

ARRAY An array is a systematic arrangement of similar objects, usually in rows and columns. Things called an array include: {{TOC right Music * In twelve-tone and serial composition, the presentation of simultaneous twelve-tone sets such that the ...

. Tommy's short film, ''Draft Day'', was also screened at TIFF as part of '' NBA Films for Fans'', a special event program of five Canadian short films about

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appro ...

. Tommy received a

nomination for Best Direction in a Web Program or Series at the

11th Canadian Screen Awards The 11th Canadian Screen Awards, presented by the Academy of Canadian Cinema & Television, honoured achievements in Canadian film, television and digital media production in 2022.Revenge of the Black Best Friend ''Revenge of the Black Best Friend'' is a Canadian comedy web series, which premiered in 2022 on CBC Gem. Created by Amanda Parris, the series stars Oluniké Adeliyi as Dr. Toni Shakur, a self-help guru who specializes in helping Black actors who l ...

''. In 2024 he was named as the recipient of the

Company 3 TFCA Luminary Award The Company 3 TFCA Luminary Award, formerly the Clyde Gilmour Award, is an annual award, presented at the discretion the Toronto Film Critics Association as a lifetime achievement award for distinguished contributions to the Canadian film industry. ...

's "pay it forward" grant, selected by representatives of the estate of film director

Charles Officer Charles Officer (October 28, 1975 – December 1, 2023) was a Canadian film and television director, writer, actor, and professional hockey player. Early life and education Charles Officer was born in Toronto, Ontario on October 28, 1972. He ...

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Tommy, Thyrone Film directors from Toronto Black Canadian filmmakers Canadian Film Centre alumni Living people Year of birth missing (living people) Black Canadian screenwriters 21st-century Canadian screenwriters 21st-century Canadian male writers Canadian male screenwriters