May Miles Thomas is a film director and screenwriter.

Biographical details

Born in Glasgow, May Miles Thomas was educated at

Hillhead High School Hillhead High School is a day school in Glasgow, Scotland, on Oakfield Avenue, neighbouring the University of Glasgow. Admissions It is one of the largest schools in Glasgow. History Grammar school Until 1972 it was a co-educational selectiv ...

and the

Glasgow School of Art The Glasgow School of Art (GSA; gd, Sgoil-ealain Ghlaschu) is a higher education art school based in Glasgow, Scotland, offering undergraduate degrees, post-graduate awards (both taught and research-led), and PhDs in architecture, fine art, an ...

, graduating in design and photography. May Miles Thomas has worked as production designer, writer, editor, director of photography, producer and director. 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. As a freelancer, she progressed to making music videos and commercials. In 1995 she founded the production company
Elemental Films
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''. In 1997 she was selected by the European Film Academy to atten

at Ebeltoft, Denmark. 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. The British Film Institute Filmography has identified May Miles Thomas as one of the 10 most prolific British women directors.

Films

*1997 ''The Beauty of the Common Tool'' (short) *1999 ''Colentina'' (documentary) *2000 ''One Life Stand'' (feature) *2003 ''Solid Air'' (feature) *2009 ''The Devil's Plantation'' (interactive) *2013 ''The Devil's Plantation'' (iOS Application) *2013 ''The Devil's Plantation'' (feature) *2017 ''Voyageuse'' (feature)

''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. Miles Thomas is credited as screenwriter, director of photography, director and editor. The film was favourably reviewed, won five Scottish BAFTAs and was selected for numerous film festivals including

Rotterdam International Film Festival The International Film Festival Rotterdam (IFFR) is an annual film festival held at the end of January in various locations in Rotterdam, the Netherlands. Since its foundation in 1972, it has maintained a focus on independent and experimental fi ...

, New York Silicon Alley,

Dublin International Film Festival The Dublin International Film Festival (DIFF; ) is an annual film festival held in Dublin, Ireland, since 2003. History Dublin International Film Festival was established in 2003. It was revived by Michael Dwyer, international film critic and ...

Edinburgh International Film Festival The Edinburgh International Film Festival (EIFF) is a film festival that runs for two weeks in June each year. Established in 1947, it is the world's oldest continually running film festival. EIFF presents both UK and international films (all ti ...

HOF International Film Festival The Hof International Filmfestival is a German film festival that takes place in Hof, Bavaria, every year in October. Apart from numerous foreign productions, the main focus traditionally is on German films. During six festival days, about 130 f ...

Hamptons International Film Festival The Hamptons International Film Festival (HIFF) is an international film festival founded in 1992, by Joyce Robinson. The festival has since taken place every year in East Hampton, New York. It is usually an annual five-day event in mid-October ...

Galway Film Fleadh The Galway Film Fleadh (; Irish for "festival") is an international film festival founded in 1989 as part of the Galway Arts Festival. Describing itself as Ireland’s leading film festival, the event is held every July in Galway city in Irela ...

Bergen International Film Festival The Bergen International Film Festival (BIFF) is a film festival held annually in October in Bergen, Norway since 2000, and is the largest film festival in the nation in number of films. The festival celebrated its 20th edition in 2019, featuring ...

Raindance Film Festival Raindance is an independent film festival and film school that operates in major cities including London, Los Angeles, New York, Vancouver, Toronto, Montreal, Budapest, Berlin, and Brussels. The festival was established in 1992 by Elliot Grove t ...

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 Brian McCardie is a Scottish actor and writer. Early life Brian McCardie attended St. Brendan’s, then St. Athanasius Primary Schools. He went on to Our Lady's High School in Motherwell. His parents moved from Motherwell to Carluke while h ...

, Maurice Roëves,

Kathy Kiera Clarke Kathy Kiera Clarke (possibly Keira) is a Northern Irish actress. She is best known for her role as Aunt Sarah in ''Derry Girls''. Career Film and television Clarke's first television role was as Bernadette Brennan in '' Head over Heels'' in ...

and Gary Lewis. Financed by

Momentum Pictures Momentum Pictures is a film distributor and a subsidiary of Entertainment One, itself part of Hasbro. Prior to 2013, it was a brand of Canadian distributor Alliance Films used for its releases in the United Kingdom, and was one of the leading in ...

Scottish Screen The Moving Image Archive is a collection of Scottish film and video recordings at the National Library of Scotland, held at Kelvin Hall in Glasgow, Scotland. There are over 46,000 items within the collection, and over 2,600 of these are publicly av ...

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 The Cinequest Film & Creativity Festival is an annual independent film festival held each March in San Jose, California and Redwood City, California. The international festival combines the cinematic arts with Silicon Valley’s innovation. ...

, Mannheim International Film Festival,

Festroia International Film Festival The Tróia International Film Festival, commonly referred to as Festroia ( pt, Festival Internacional de Cinema de Tróia – Festróia) was an annual international film festival in Portugal held from 1985 to 2014. Held in the town of Setúbal an ...

Gijón International Film Festival The Gijón International Film Festival ( ast, Festival Internacional de Cine de Xixón or ''FICXixón'') is an annual film festival held in Gijón, a city in northwest Spain. History The festival's origins date back to 1963. In the beginning ...

, Festival International de Film de Femmes and Britspotting Berlin.

''The Devil's Plantation''

In 2007 Miles Thomas won the

Scottish Arts Council The Scottish Arts Council ( gd, Comhairle Ealain na h-Alba, sco, Scots Airts Cooncil) was a Scottish public body responsible for the funding, development and promotion of the arts in Scotland. The Council primarily distributed funding from th ...

Creative Scotland Award to create ''The Devil's Plantation'', an interactive website and multi-media project that reveals the secret geometry and ancient paths of Glasgow. In 2013 the project was re-worked as an iOS Application and a feature film for presentation at the

Glasgow Film Festival The Glasgow Film Festival is an annual film festival based in Glasgow, Scotland. The festival began in 2005. By 2015, the festival had seen audience figures top 40,000 for two consecutive years. 2008 2008's festival took place between 14–24 Fe ...

and cinemas throughout Scotland.

''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 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

in March 2018.

Awards

*Best Film ( Palm Springs International Short Film Festival 1997, ''The Beauty of the Common Tool'') *Best Live Action Short shortlist (

Academy Awards The Academy Awards, better known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international film industry. The awards are regarded by many as the most prestigious, significant awards in the entertainment ind ...

1998, ''The Beauty of the Common Tool'') *Nipkow Fellowship (Nipkow Programm Berlin 1997) *Best Film, Best Actor (New York Silicon Alley Film Festival 2000, ''One Life Stand'') *Best Film, Best Director, Best Writer, Best Actress ( BAFTA New Talent Awards 2000, ''One Life Stand'') *Best Film commendation (Edinburgh International Film Festival 2000, ''One Life Stand'') *Outstanding Achievement Award (

2000) *Best Achievement in Production (

British Independent Film Awards The British Independent Film Awards (BIFA) is an organisation that celebrates, supports and promotes British independent cinema and filmmaking talent in United Kingdom. Nominations for the annual awards ceremony are announced in early November, ...

2000, ''One Life Stand'') *NESTA Fellowship (

National Endowment for Science, Technology and the Arts Nesta (formerly NESTA, National Endowment for Science, Technology and the Arts) is an innovation foundation based in the UK. The organisation acts through a combination of programmes, investment, policy and research, and the formation of part ...

2000) *European Screenplay Finalist (

Sundance Institute Sundance Institute is a non-profit organization founded by Robert Redford committed to the growth of independent artists. The institute is driven by its programs that discover and support independent filmmakers, theatre artists and composers fr ...

/NHK International Filmmakers Awards 2001, ''Ringing the True'') *Best Director, Best Cinematography ( Festroia Festival Internacional de Cinema Portugal 2003, ''Solid Air'') *Pioneer to the Life of the Nation (by

HM Queen Elizabeth II Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 1926 – 8 September 2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until her death in 2022. She was queen regnant of 32 sovereign states during ...

for Services to British Cinema 2003) *Creative Scotland Award (

2007) *Best Interactive Project (BAFTA New Talent Awards 2010, ''The Devil's Plantation'' website) *Cineworld Audience Award nomination (

BAFTA Scotland BAFTA in Scotland is the Scottish branch of the British Academy of Film and Television Arts. Formed in 1986, the branch holds two annual awards ceremonies recognising the achievement by performers and production staff in Scottish film, televis ...

Film and Television Awards 2013, ''The Devil's Plantation'') *The Discovery Award (

British Independent Film Awards 2018 The British Independent Film Awards 2018 were held on 2 December 2018 to recognise the best in British independent cinema and filmmaking talent from United Kingdom. The nominations were announced on 31 October 2018. ''The Favourite'' led the nomi ...

, ''Voyageuse'')

References

External links

Elemental Films website''One Life Stand'' website''Solid Air'' website''The Devil's Plantation'' website''Voyageuse'' website
*
NESTA websiteArticle written by May Miles ThomasVideo of the making of ''One Life Stand''Video preview of ''One Life Stand''
* ttps://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/radioscotland/2010/12/shereen-may-miles-thomas.shtml Interview with Shereen Nanjiani, BBC Radio Scotland
Interview by Susan Mansfield, The Scotsman
{{DEFAULTSORT:Thomas, May Miles Scottish women film directors Scottish screenwriters BAFTA winners (people) Film people from Glasgow Alumni of the Glasgow School of Art British women screenwriters 1959 births Living people People educated at Hillhead High School