Thomas HJ Donnelly is an up-and-coming filmmaker and artist who works in the film industry as a production assistant and develops his own projects in his off time. He holds a Film Major and Theatre Minor from the University of Manitoba. (Shout out to the Black Hole Theatre Community and Film Prod Class 2016/17!)
Thomas has worked in locations on many productions, including Time Cut, Violent Night, Spencer Sisters, Love Hurts, and Nobody 2. He’s also worked as an AD Set PA on the show The Holiday Shift. In 2024, Thomas was a finalist in the RBC Emerging Filmmakers Competition at the Gimli Film Festival. This year, he has been hard at work on his short film, Shadow of a Bandmate, debuting late July this year.
When and how did you start in the media production industry?
As I graduated from university in May 2019, my father connected me to Louise Moran O’Brien, who has become a bit of a mentor since. She helped me put together a resume, and then I sent it out to productions. Luckily, I got some dailies that grew into larger gigs and built connections with others in the industry, which was very helpful during the pandemic and strikes. Since then, I’ve built a connection with a lot of great people in the industry.
What area of the film industry do you work in now, and why?
I usually work in the locations department, but I’ve also worked in the AD and office departments as well. My big goal is to become a director and those are the major stepping stones to that field. It lets me see the world of film from a different perspective and helps me think of things I probably wouldn’t have thought of if I had not taken this path.
What has been a substantial change in the industry since you started?
How prominent Manitoba is becoming in the film industry. It’s great to see bigger and bigger things coming to work and continuing to evolve our film community. Especially with things like the COVID pandemic and the 2023 strikes, we’ve persevered and hopefully will continue to grow in the years to come.
If you could give yourself advice today to yourself in the past, what would it be?
Probably the same advice I gave myself at the end of film prod class in university: prepare yourself, but be ready to improvise. Being aware that the plan could change and being ready to act is key. It’s really helped me in my own projects as well as being ready for things to move on the fly.
What advice would you give to someone starting off in the media production industry?
Keep learning. Be aware. Don’t be so hard on yourself. Be willing to collaborate but know when to stick to your gut. If you see something, say something.
Why is learning and training important?
It makes you smarter. Especially in other departments. I believe if you want to be a director, you need to get an idea of all these things that you need to account for. Learn what other departments do, whether that be in university or courses in FTM. Script-writing courses were super beneficial in learning how to approach a script.
But working in the industry hands-on is a great way to learn as well. Sometimes, you have to learn how to swim by starting in the deep end.
What are some of the films, TV series or even books that have inspired you? How about anything new you’ve been into?
Oh, where to start? I’ve been in a bit of a rut and trying to watch more things, but lately, what I have seen, I’ve been impressed by for the most part. I’ve been catching up on shows that I’ve been behind on for so long, such as Yellowjackets and Andor. I’m a huge nerd, so I enjoy science fiction, fantasy and animation (love Arcane and Spider-Verse), but I’m getting into exploring the horror genre as well. I love to game when I can and read comics, especially studying the art for my own drawings and artwork.
Stand-out movies I saw in the theatre include Thunderbolts, Mission: Impossible, Sinners, and Companion. And yes, looking forward to Fantastic Four and Superman.
Is there something about you or an interesting past experience that you’d like to share with your colleagues?
I once went to a film shift with a piece of glass in my foot. Not that. That actually happened, but following the film gig that got my DGC union membership, I shadowed director Shamim Sariff on the indie Polarized. It was an incredible experience seeing a production from that point of view.
Plus, directing my short film Shadow of a Bandmate (with producers Evan Friesen and Cali Sproule) has been an amazing and rewarding journey and I can’t wait to see it to the finish line.
Is there someone within the film industry you would like to work with and why?
Honestly, for me, there are two parts to that question. I’ve seen so much amazing local talent from my university days in film and theatre, as well as from my experiences working in the industry. I don’t want to say names to avoid playing favourites, but I have a mental list of people whom I’d love to work with soon.
On more international talent, that’s even harder to narrow down. Would love to work on a production for a fantasy or science fiction film. I’ve always wanted to be part of the making of that scale of production. Though a couple of big names I’d love to work with include Ryan Coogler, Greta Gerwig, the duo Phil Lord and Chris Miller, and James Gunn.
Where do you see yourself ten years from now?
Fingers crossed: having a couple feature films of my own out there. I’m really looking forward to making big strides in my career and having more of my own projects see the light of day.
FTM is a non-for-profit charity and member of the Province of Manitoba’s Sector Council program funded through the Economic Development, Investment, Trade and Natural Resources. FTM builds a highly skilled and adaptable film industry workforce to support the activities of Manitoba production companies. FTM collaborates and partners with members of the film industry to identify training needs to support workforce development.