Justin M. Thomas began his professional film career in 2007, when he became the Associate Producer of the Nicholas Bruckman and People's Television documentary short "The Grey Movie". The film was sponsored by the Cinereach Foundation, and in March of 2008 had its screening debut at the Grammercy Park Hotel in NYC. It was later screened by Rooftop Films and by The Brooklyn Academy of Music (BAM).
In 2009, Justin contributed to the production of the award-winning short film "The Bridge", directed by actor and producer Philipp Wolter of The Film Gym production company; on set he assisted in grip and lighting.
Beginning in 2011, Justin enrolled in the graduate program at the prestigious School of Visual Arts in Manhattan for their Social Documentary program. It was during his tenure that he directed, filmed, and produced his first feature film: a biographical account of the life of Dennis Flores, a Brooklyn-born media activist who films police brutality and misconduct in his community. This film, "Truth Through A Lens", won the Best Documentary Feature Award at the 2014 Workers Unite Festival, and was an Official Selection at the 2015 Socially Relevant Film Festival in New York City.
Over the past decade, Justin has contributed to a wide range of media outlets. In 2011, he became a certified studio producer for BRIC Art Media's BCAT Brooklyn Independent Television and wrote, directed, filmed, and edited the showcase "WORD: Hip Hop Television". Beginning with his graduation from SVA in 2013, Justin became a freelance videographer and produced video content for Arvato Systems North America, Firelight Media, USA Today Sports, and And Now Media. Additionally, he has directed several music videos by independent music artists across the Tri-State area.
Mr. Thomas has also continued to facilitate his own film projects; in 2017 he documented the historic Women's March in Washington, DC. In October 2019 his documentary short "Sophia Dawson: PURPOSE", about the artist and activist of the same name, became an Official Selection at the first annual Shortie Film Festival in Brooklyn, NY. The film went on to screen at both the Workers Unite and Socially Relevant Film Festivals in the Fall of 2020.
In September of 2020, Justin founded and launched the Black Independent Filmmaker App, the first mobile venture that provides a virtual platform to connect filmmakers of color in the independent film community, consolidating resources into a single app.
In 2022, Justin became a producer on the feature film drama "I Want To Live On Mars", directed by Ukrainian filmmaker Mariya Somova. The film was completed in 2023, and throughout 2024 it won multiple awards at film festivals across the U.S.
In 2024 Justin wrote, directed and edited the documentary short film "FORECAST" about the US presidential election and its immediate aftermath, which has been screened and awarded at several festivals both domestically and internationally during the 2025 film season.
In 2025 Justin completed work as the director, producer and editor of the narrative short film "Swallowed", based on a screenplay by Laila Locklear and starring Husani Blaze and Daphne Juliet. It won the Best Sci-Fi Award at the Spring 2026 New York Movie Awards.
Justin is currently developing his first two narrative screenplays - one feature and one short - and is in the process of securing investments to begin production.
Director Statement
