MICHIEL THOMAS
DOCS
BALLIN' OUT
Director // Producer // DP // Co-Editor
Synopsis
Presented by Outsports, this five-part documentary series delves into the lives of LGBTQ+ women on Team USA wheelchair basketball as they compete at the World Championships in Dubai. Each 10 to 15-minute episode reveals their diverse disability origin stories, poignant coming-out journeys, and the crucial role of mental health in elite sports.
// Distribution: Outsports / Q.Digital
// Festivals: 2024 Hollyshorts Film Festival, 2024 Ouray International Film Festival
RELIGHTING CANDLES:
THE TIM SULLIVAN STORY
Co-Director // Producer // DP
Synopsis
The critically acclaimed short documentary RELIGHTING CANDLES: THE TIM SULLIVAN STORY chronicles Tim Sullivan, who owns a candle shop in West Hollywood that employs newly sober, and homeless men and women to help pour the 20k Christmas candle orders every year.
// Distribution: Hulu (2024)
// Co-Director: Zeb Newman
// Executive Producers:
Melissa McCarthy & Ben Falcone
// Winner: GLAAD Media Awards
Special Recognition Award 2024
GEMMEL & TIM
Director // Producer // DP // Editor
Synopsis
Award-winning feature documentary GEMMEL & TIM explores the lives and untimely passings of Gemmel Moore and Timothy Dean, two Black gay men who both died from meth overdoses at the home of West Hollywood politico Ed Buck. The film simultaneously investigates the crimes and offers a cautionary tale to keep these events from repeating.
// Distribution: Tubi (2023)
Revry, Dekkoo (2023)
// Festivals: 30+, including Palm
Springs International Film Festival
// Awards: 8
THAT'S WILD
Director // Producer // DP // Editor
Synopsis
The feature documentary THAT'S WILD tells the story of Clifford (16), Nicholas (13) and Ahmani (13), three underserved teenage boys from Atlanta, attempting to climb four snowcapped peaks in the heart of the Colorado wilderness, all while overcoming their own personal mountains.
// Distribution: PBS, (2021)
AMC+ & Sundance TV (2021)
// Festivals: 30+, 5 continents, including Wildscreen, American Black Film Festival
// Awards: 4
GAME FACE
Director // Producer // DP // Editor
Synopsis
The feature doc GAME FACE shows the quest to self-realization of LGBT athletes and the acceptance in society. This documentary tells the parallel story of Fallon Fox, MMAs first transgender pro fighter, and Terrence, a college basketball player in Oklahoma who happens to be gay. The film follows both athletes during their coming out process, and sheds light on the obstacles LGBT sports players deal with throughout their career.
// Distribution: Netflix (2016)
Peacock (2023)
// Festivals: 50+, 4 continents,
including DOC NYC
// Awards: 12, including Frameline
Audience Award Best Documentary
KIDS GAME
Director // Producer // DP // Editor
Synopsis
Short Documentary: As of 2019, the San Antonio Metro Region in Texas leads the US in poverty, with one-in-four children experiencing hunger. The mentoring program “City Kids Adventures” provides San Antonio underserved youth with the opportunity to hunt and harvest wildlife for their families.
// Distribution: PBS (2021)
// Website: PBS Shorts Film Fest
THE AMERICAN ARMY DREAM
Director // Producer // DP // Editor
Synopsis
'The American Army Dream' is a short documentary on Audrey Franssen from Belgium. In the summer of 2016 Audrey moved to Pennsylvania to pursue her unusual American Dream at Valley Forge Military Academy and College. The doc aired on Belgian national TV on May 23 2017.
// Distribution: Canvas - VRT (2017)
// Partner: De Chinezen
// TV Show: 4 x 7 - Season 2
DOC PARTNERSHIPS
Conversations with Gay Elders: David Weissman LLC // Editor of 2 Doc Episodes
Real Sports With Bryant Gumble - Fallon Fox: HBO Sports // Additional Cinematographer
Arno: Dancing Inside My Head: Savage Films // 2nd Unit USA Cinematographer
James Ensor: The Man Behind The Mask: Canvas VRT // 2nd Unit USA Cinematographer
Belpop: Episode "Admiral Freebee": Canvas VRT // 2nd Unit USA Cinematographer
Belpop: Epiosde "Soulsister": Canvas VRT // 2nd Unit USA Cinematographer
Digi & Ik: Canvas VRT // // 2nd Unit USA Cinematographer
My America: Michiel Vos - Canvas VRT // Additional Cinematographer