Paul Tom

Paul Tom is a Canadian documentary filmmaker, most noted for his films Baggage (Bagages) and Alone (Seuls).[1]

Born to Cambodian parents in a refugee camp in Thailand, Tom came to Canada with his family in childhood.[2] He studied communications and media at the Université du Québec à Montréal, and animation at Concordia University,[3] and created the short films Que je vive en paix in 2011 and Un pays de silences in 2013.

Baggage, his first mid-length documentary, was released in 2017, and centred on a group of immigrant students enrolled in a theatre program.[4] The film won several awards on the film festival circuit, including the prix Télébec for best mid-length film at the 2017 Abitibi-Témiscamingue International Film Festival,[5] the Prix Public for Best Canadian Film at the 2017 Quebec City Film Festival,[6] and the Women Inmate Jury Award at the 2017 Montreal International Documentary Festival. Following its television broadcast on Télé-Québec in December 2017, it won two Gémeaux Awards in 2018, for Best Documentary Program or Series (Arts and Culture) and Best Direction in a Documentary (Biography, Arts and Culture, Nature, Science or Environment).[7] It was also nominated for Best Writing in a Documentary.[8]

His full-length documentary feature Alone was released in 2021,[3] and was a Prix Iris nominee for Best Documentary Film at the 24th Quebec Cinema Awards in 2022.[9] Tom and illustrator Mélanie Baillargé subsequently published a book adaptation of the film, under the French title Seuls in 2022[10] and the English title Alone: The Journey of Three Young Refugees in 2023.[2] The French edition was a Governor General's Award nominee for French-language children's illustration at the 2022 Governor General's Awards,[11] and the English translation by Arielle Aaronson was nominated for the Governor General's Award for French to English translation at the 2023 Governor General's Awards.[12]

References

  1. ^ Megan Durnford, "Paul Tom Animates the Stories of Child Refugees in Alone". Point of View, November 14, 2021.
  2. ^ a b Inderjit Deogun, "For Paul Tom, Alone: The Journey of Three Young Refugees touches on universal truths". Quill & Quire, March 2023.
  3. ^ a b Alexandre Vigneault, "Seuls, un film qui ouvre les bras". La Presse, November 29, 2021.
  4. ^ "Bagages : de jeunes immigrants qui s’intègrent par le théâtre". Ici Radio-Canada Première, November 10, 2017.
  5. ^ "Un profil pour deux remporte le Grand prix du FCIAT". Ici Radio-Canada, November 3, 2017.
  6. ^ Cédric Bélanger, "«Les rois mongols» obtient le Prix du public". TVA Nouvelles, September 21, 2017.
  7. ^ "Soirée des artisans des Gémeaux : 5 prix pour le Bye bye 2017". Ici Radio-Canada, September 13, 2018.
  8. ^ "BAGAGES : 3 nominations aux 33es prix Gémeaux – En rappel à Télé-Québec le 23 juin". CTVM, June 19, 2018.
  9. ^ Stéphanie Nolin, "Gala Québec Cinéma 2022 : Vincent-Guillaume Otis sacré meilleur acteur". Showbizz, June 5, 2022.
  10. ^ "Seuls, un livre sur les jeunes réfugiés qui arrivent au Canada sans parents". Ici Radio-Canada Première, November 3, 2022.
  11. ^ Chantal Fontaine, "Dévoilement des finalistes des Prix littéraires du Gouverneur général". Les Libraires, October 12, 2022.
  12. ^ "Suzette Mayr, Iain Reid among finalists for $25K Governor General's Literary Awards". CBC Books, October 25, 2023.