Pamela Tom
Pamela Tom in 2014
Born
Pamela Tom

Los Angeles, California
NationalityAmerican
Other namesPam Tom
Occupation(s)Director, Producer, Screenwriter

Pamela Tom is a 5th generation Chinese American producer, director, and screenwriter. Her films often explore the Chinese experience in the Western world, social justice, feminism, and religion.

Early life

Tom's family immigrated to the U.S. from southern China in the 1870s. Her grandfather owned the restaurant, New Moon, in Downtown L.A.[1] Her father managed the restaurant and mother was a teacher.

Tom was born in Los Angeles and raised in Monterey Park.

Education

In 1981, Tom earned a bachelor of art degree in Development Studies from Brown University.

From 1980 to 1981, Tom was a visiting student at the University of Ile-Ife in Ile-Ife, Nigeria.

In 1990, Tom earned a MFA from UCLA's Department of Theater, Film and Television.[2] Her narrative thesis film, Two Lies,[3][4] screened at the Sundance Film Festival, the New Directors/New Films Festival, and the Smithsonian Institution. The film went on to be distributed by Women Make Movies.[5]

Career

Tom began her career when she received a Disney Writing Fellowship.[6][7] After leaving Disney, Tom became the Senior Associate Producer on the ABC Television Special The Story of Mothers & Daughters and the field producer on the PBS television pilot directed by Michael Camerini, "Becoming the Buddha in LA".[8] She went on to direct Sidney Poitier in a monologue to promote the Showtime original film, Mandela and de Klerk.[6]

Tom later became the Director of Diversity, overseeing the diversity talent program, Project: Involve, at Film Independent for nine years.

In 2008, Tom became a Producer and Development Executive for KCET in Los Angeles, where she developed and oversaw production on several national and international projects, including the national prime-time series WIRED Science and the BBC/KCET three-part series, "World War II Behind Closed Doors: Stalin, the Nazis and the West," on which she directed Keith David for the American narration and also supervised the sound editing and sound mixing.

Tom went on to executive produce Gwen Wynne's debut feature film, Wild About Harry, starring Tate Donovan and Adam Pascal. The film premiered at the Palm Springs International Film Festival.

In 2015, Tom wrote, produced, and directed the acclaimed documentary, Tyrus, about the pioneering Chinese American artist, Tyrus Wong, through her production company, New Moon Pictures. It premiered at the Telluride Film Festival and was broadcast on the Emmy-nominated season of PBS’s American Masters series. The film won nine festival awards and has screened world-wide.

In 2019, Tom received a Los Angeles Press Club nomination and an Emmy Award for writing, directing and producing the 2018 PBS documentary, Finding Home: A Foster Youth Story.[9][10]

Tom has taught film directing at UC Santa Barbara, Loyola Marymount University, and UCLA Extension. She is a member of the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences and Film Fatales.

Filmography

Film

Year Film Role
2018Finding Home[11]Writer, director, producer
2015TyrusWriter, director, producer
2009American PrimitiveExecutive Producer
2009The Story of Mothers & DaughtersAssociate Producer
1990Two LiesWriter, director, producer

Television

Year Film Role
2008World War Two: Behind Closed DoorsPost-Production Producer (1 Episode)
2007Wired ScienceProducer (1 Episode)
1993Becoming the Buddha in L.A.Field Producer

References

  1. ↑ Meher McArthur (7 Jan 2013). "Chinese Brushstrokes in Hollywood: The Works of Tyrus Wong". KCET.
  2. ↑ "Pam Tom". wmm.com. Retrieved May 15, 2019.
  3. ↑ Caryn James (28 Mar 1990). "Reviews/Film Festival; 2 Explorations of Generational Conflicts". New York Times.
  4. ↑ Marjorie Baumgarten (28 Feb 1992). "Double Bind". Austin Chronicle.
  5. ↑ "TWO LIES: A film by Pam Tom". Women Make Movies.
  6. 1 2 "Good Talk: Pamela Tom". Good Docs. Retrieved 23 Feb 2021.
  7. ↑ "Directors: Pamela Tom". Film Fatales. Retrieved 23 Feb 2021.
  8. ↑ "Tyrus: Directed by Pamela Tom". Seattle Asian American Film Festival. Retrieved 23 Feb 2021.
  9. ↑ "Winners of the 61st SoCal Journalism Awards 2019" (PDF). 1 Jul 2019.
  10. ↑ "Pamela Tom and the team from PBS SoCal accept the Emmy for Crime/Social Issues for "Finding Home: A Foster Youth Story" at the 71st Los Angeles Area Emmy Awards". Television Academy. 19 Jul 2019.
  11. ↑ "PBS SoCal Presents Finding Home: A Foster Youth Story Premiering November 1 For National Adoption Awareness Month". PBS SoCal.

Additional sources

Zahed, Ramin (November 18, 2012). "Tyrus Wong Documentary Launches on Kickstarter". Animation Magazine. Jean Thoren. Retrieved April 29, 2013.

McArthur, Meher (January 8, 2013). "Chinese Brushstrokes in Hollywood: The Works of Tyrus Wong". KCET. Retrieved April 29, 2013.

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