Trisha Morton-Thomas, also known as Patricia Morton-Thomas, is an

Anmatyerr The Anmatyerr, also spelt Anmatyerre, Anmatjera, Anmatjirra, Amatjere and other variations) are an Aboriginal Australian people of the Northern Territory, who speak one of the Upper Arrernte languages. Language Anmatyerr is divided into Easte ...

woman born in the

Northern Territory of Australia The Northern Territory (commonly abbreviated as NT; formally the Northern Territory of Australia) is an Australian territory in the central and central northern regions of Australia. The Northern Territory shares its borders with Western Aus ...

. She is a writer, producer, director and actor who has worked in the Australian film industry since 1998 when she appeared in ''Radiance'', the first feature film by director Rachel Perkins.

Career

Morton-Thomas grew up in

Alice Springs Alice Springs ( aer, Mparntwe) is the third-largest town in the Northern Territory of Australia. Known as Stuart until 31 August 1933, the name Alice Springs was given by surveyor William Whitfield Mills after Alice, Lady Todd (''née'' Al ...

and the remote

Northern Territory The Northern Territory (commonly abbreviated as NT; formally the Northern Territory of Australia) is an Australian territory in the central and central northern regions of Australia. The Northern Territory shares its borders with Western Au ...

. She started her career at the Central Australian Aboriginal Media Association (CAAMA) in 1983, where she worked as a volunteer radio announcer and later as a cadet journalist until 1990 when she moved to

Darwin Darwin may refer to: Common meanings * Charles Darwin (1809–1882), English naturalist and writer, best known as the originator of the theory of biological evolution by natural selection * Darwin, Northern Territory, a territorial capital city i ...

to work with the

Australian Broadcasting Corporation The Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) is the national broadcaster of Australia. It is principally funded by direct grants from the Australian Government and is administered by a government-appointed board. The ABC is a publicly-own ...

there. In 1991 Morton-Thomas moved to Sydney with her good friend Rachel Perkins, who, she says, "dragged me along with her". In Sydney she worked with the newly formed Bangarra Dance Theatre as a sound technician, collaborating with David Page on the soundtrack for Bangarra's first ballet, ''Praying Mantis Dreaming''. 1993 saw Trisha studying with Noel Tovey in the

Uta Hagen Uta Thyra Hagen (12 June 1919 – 14 January 2004) was a German-American actress and theatre practitioner. She originated the role of Martha in the 1962 Broadway premiere of '' Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?'' by Edward Albee, who called her "a ...

acting technique at the Eora College for Performing Arts. After finishing at Eora College, Morton-Thomas appeared in '' Radiance'' in 1998, directed by Perkins. She played the main character, Mae. In 2004, she returned to

and began working with CAAMA as a Production Manager, Producer, and Director for their film production slate. In 2007 Morton-Thomas joined the newly established National Indigenous Television (NITV) as a commissioning editor, later being promoted to senior commissioning editor. She was a presenter on the ABC Television show '' Message Stick''. In 2011 Morton-Thomas formed Brindle Films with Rachel Clements. Based in Alice Springs, Brindle films has produced feature films, documentaries and television shows. In 2020 it was confirmed that ABC and Brindle Films would partner to produce ''MaveriX'', set in the world of junior motocross; this is set to be the largest ever local productions for the NT. It is due to be shot in

in 2021.

Filmography

* '' Radiance'' (1998 film) – actor * ''The Old Man and the Inland Sea'' (2005) - post-production coordinator * ''Always Have and Always Will'' (2006) - production coordinator * ''Destiny in Alice'' (2007) - self * Willaberta Jack (2007) - development producer * Kwatye (2007) - writer, director *'' Redfern Now'' (2012-2013 TV series) - actor * ''

Utopia A utopia ( ) typically describes an imaginary community or society that possesses highly desirable or nearly perfect qualities for its members. It was coined by Sir Thomas More for his 1516 book '' Utopia'', describing a fictional island socie ...

'' (2013 film) - self * '' 8MMM Aboriginal Radio (2015 TV series) - actor, producer, writer'' * ''Coat of Arms'' (2017) - producer * ''Occupation Native'' (2017) - producer, writer, director, self * ''The Song Keepers'' (2017) - producer * ''Nobody's Child'' (2017) - actor * ''Finke: There and Back'' (2019) - producer * ''Total Control'' (2019 TV series)- actor * ''Not Just Numbers'' (2019) - producer * '' Robbie Hood'' (2019) - Indigenous consultant

Awards

ATOM Awards (Australian Teachers of Media Awards) * 2018 – Best Indigenous Video or Website: ''Occupation Native (2017) (winner)'' Film Critics Circle of Australia Awards * 2018 – Best Documentary: ''The Songkeepers (2017) (nominated)''

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Morton-Thomas, Trisha Australian film producers Australian film directors Australian women film directors Australian television producers Australian women television producers Australian television directors Indigenous Australian musicians Australian screenwriters Living people Indigenous Australian filmmakers People from Alice Springs Year of birth missing (living people) Australian women television directors