Erin Brown Thomas | Screenwriter | Director | Part 1

Erin Brown Thomas

Screenwriter | Director 

What are some of your favorite projects you’ve worked on? And what was it that made them special? 

Honestly, my favorite projects are one’s I’ve written that I have not gotten to shoot yet. They live in my brain, in their most perfect form, haha. They are special because I wrote them. I actually have never directed a film that I wrote solely myself. But that will change soon. 

Here are the loglines of the three completed feature films I’m assembling finances for right now.

• THE BODY OF CHRIS — When a manic youth pastor streaks through a Sunday service, church leadership finds themselves center stage in an escalating PR nightmare with only an agnostic intern to instruct them. The fate of their community hangs on the question: “How should the body of Christ handle the body of Chris?”
• EMERGENCY CONTACT — During the week of her best friend’s wedding, career-driven IZ COOPER learns she’s the emergency contact for an unpopular, newly-deceased acquaintance. Iz’s resentment towards the dead girl grows as she’s forced to juggle best friend duties for both a wake and a high-profile wedding. But as Iz uncovers the broad strokes of this desperate addict’s final year, she discovers a precious friendship she neglected and learns that someone’s net worth is more than their network. 
• ITALY ’99 — Ditching her class field trip on a dare, a fiercely driven and religiously devout know-it-all American High schooler embarks on a solo journey across Italy. Her meticulous plans unravel. Broke, exhausted, and hundreds of miles off course, she’s offered shelter by a gentle Italian family. As the tempo of her trip slows, her whole world expands and she takes on her biggest challenge yet: surrender. 
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I’m also excited for everyone to see A Question of Service when we release it online, as well as [subtext] which will be premiering soon at the Academy Award-Qualifying Indy Shorts. Some of my films that are already available to view online include Rekindled, Feeling Flush, But First…, Human, Hotwire, and Young + Beautiful. 
 

How does the creative process differ in directing a project you wrote yourself versus directing a project written by someone else? 

It takes less time to envision the end product when you wrote something yourself. I also think it’s possibly easier to find an original tone. It just comes from you in a more pure way. 

That being said, I love collaborating. As I approach directing the feature scripts I’ve written, I still want feedback and ideas from key creatives on my team. 
 

In addition to making your own films, you also run a short film festival. How did Salute Your Shorts come about? What’s it like running a festival? 

Salute Your Shorts exists because Melissa Smith connected Becky Murdoch and me. We had independently been talking about a film festival and once the two of us got in the same room, the vision grew quickly.

Running a festival is a lot of work. It means watching a LOT of short films, and the programming team and I spend just as much time talking about these films and their merits. It’s tough saying “no” to so many worthy films, but we keep our lineup slim every year so that we can put our full promotional energy behind the small lineup of films we choose to champion. 

Running the festival has become a beautiful way for me to support my peers while doing targeted networking. I’ve made so many friends and collaborators through our alumni community. Also, putting together a lineup every year helps me feel less competitive (in a good way). When my film plays alongside a great film at another festival, I think “Oh wow, I’d love to share this at SYSFF” instead of “Oh no. Is this film better than mine?” 

Our 7th annual festival is August 18-20th at the Assistance League Theatre in Hollywood. Mark your calendars and see you there!

What’s your dream project? What would you most like to be working on?



I would unabashedly love to direct on the TV show Severance.