Jake Thomas first picked up a camera at the age of six and has never looked back. For nearly two decades, his work has continually proven the value of creativity and ingenuity in storytelling. Before moving to Los Angeles, he was one of the pioneers of the first annual Open Frame Film Festival at Malone University and remained involved for its first six years. Before the school even had a film program, he produced shorts ranging in genre from WWII to western, science fiction, and animation, all on a self-funded budget from the pocket change of a student.

 

In 2011, after spending one day filming at scenic Angels’ Knoll in downtown Los Angeles, he had shot the fantasy short One on One, a celebration of his childhood love for superheroes. The movie went on to delight audiences at festivals around the globe and was heralded by Krypton Radio as “one of the best short-form Superman films we’ve ever seen,” eventually being highlighted in print by Total Film and SFX Magazine — and all from a single day of filming.

 

His debut feature film Shedding combines his love of animals, fairy tales, and emotional catharsis. He began production by documenting his pets on camera for two years and cutting their actions into the beginning of a story about transformation and longing. Other scripts that have garnered accolades include the disaster adventure Overflow from the Kairos Prize for Uplifting Screenplays, the coming-of-age drama Last Summer from the BlueCat Screenplay Competition, and the biographical American Way from Table Read My Screenplay in Park City, UT at the Sundance Film Festival.