Thomas Allen Harris facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Thomas Allen Harris
Born	Thomas Allen Harris United States
Nationality	American
Occupation	Film director, Producer
Known for	Documentary work

Thomas Allen Harris is a talented artist and filmmaker. He makes movies and TV shows that explore families, who we are, and our beliefs. Since 1990, he has used old photos and videos to tell new stories. He likes to work with communities to share their history. Right now, he's making a TV show called Family Pictures USA. This show looks at different places in the United States. It uses family photos and personal stories from people living there.

Early Career and Collaborations

Thomas Allen Harris loves working with others. Early in his career, he worked with many talented filmmakers. He was a producer for WNET, a PBS TV station in New York. There, he created TV segments about important social topics from 1987 to 1991. In 1990, he helped organize a big public TV event. This event brought together people from New York and San Francisco to discuss important community issues. In 1997, Harris and other filmmakers wrote a paper. It was about how media artists from the African Diaspora tell their stories. This paper was later published in a book.

Amazing Documentary Films

Harris makes very personal and experimental films. These films have won awards at many international film festivals. Some of these festivals include Sundance, Berlin, and Toronto. His films have also been shown on TV channels like PBS and the Sundance Channel.

Some of his well-known films include:

• Twelve Disciples of Nelson Mandela (2005): This film tells the story of the fight against apartheid. It uses personal stories and old videos. It also features South African actors who were new to acting.
• É Minha Cara/That's My Face (2001): This is a unique journey filmed on Super 8mm film. Three generations of Harris's family filmed it across three different continents.
• VINTAGE - Families of Value (1995): This film shows different Black families. Harris gave cameras to three groups of siblings, including himself and his brother Lyle Ashton Harris.

These films have changed how people think about documentaries. They show how personal stories and community involvement can create powerful films.

Digital Diaspora Family Reunion

In 2009, Harris and his team started the Digital Diaspora Family Reunion (DDFR). This is a special project that explores stories found in family photo albums. DDFR works with museums, festivals, and schools. They organize workshops, shows, and exhibits. These events help people connect and share their common humanity. They also make sure that stories from people who are often overlooked are heard.

The DDFR project has collected many stories. It has over 3,500 interviews about family photos. It also has more than 30,000 photographs. This project was created alongside Harris's film, Through A Lens Darkly: Black Photographers and the Emergence of a People. In this film, important Black cultural figures and photographers share their photo collections with Harris. They explore how photography has been used to show and represent Black people throughout history. The film first aired on PBS in 2015. It was nominated for a National Emmy and a Peabody Award. It also won the 2015 NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Documentary.

Education and Teaching

Thomas Allen Harris studied at Harvard College. He also attended the Whitney Museum of American Arts Independent Study Program. He is a member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. He has received many awards, including a Guggenheim Fellowship.

Harris is also a published photographer, curator, and writer. He often gives talks about understanding images and using media for social change. He has appeared on TV shows like C-Span and NPR. He also gave a TEDx Talk. He used to be a professor at the University of California, San Diego. Now, he is a Senior Lecturer at Yale University. There, he teaches courses about family stories and community storytelling.

Filmography

Television

• Family Pictures USA (2019)

Awards and Honors

Thomas Allen Harris has received many awards and fellowships. These include the Tribeca Film Institute's Nelson Mandela Award and a Guggenheim Fellowship. He has also taught, written, and lectured widely about media. He has helped curate film festivals, including Mix and Outfest. He has also taught at the University of California San Diego and Sarah Lawrence College.

Here is a list of some of his awards, grants, and fellowships: