User:Thompowers

Thom Powers is a programmer for the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF), where he oversees the "Real to Reel" documentary section and the "Mavericks" conversation series.

He spends the summer in Toronto and lives the rest of the year in New York City where he hosts the weekly "Stranger Than Fiction" documentary screening series at the IFC Center.

He is the co-chair of the Cinema Eye Honors, launched in 2008 in collaboration with AJ Schnack and Indiepix.

In 1999, Powers co-founded the production company Sugar Pictures with Meema Spadola. Together they made the documentaries Breasts: A Documentary and Private Dicks: Men Exposed  for HBO/Cinemax.

In 2003, Powers directed Guns & Mothers for PBS' Independent Lens, exploring women on either side of the gun control debate, from the Million Mom March to the Second Amendment Sisters.

In 2005, Powers directed Loving & Cheating, a documentary about monogamy and infidelity, featuring commentary by Dan Savage, for HBO/Cinemax.

Since 2000, Powers has taught the course "Documentary Development, Research and Financing" for New York University's School of Continuing Professional Studies. His former students include Jennifer Venditti, director of Billy the Kid ; Chris Browne, director of A League of Ordinary Gentlemen ; and Mahyad Tousi, who served on the camera crew of Blindsight.

TIFF 2006
During the 2006 Toronto International Film Festival, Powers programmed the world premieres of...

Blindsight, directed by Lucy Walker, featuring Erik Weihenmayer and Sabriye Tenberken; Ghosts of Cite Soleil, directed by Asger Leth, featuring music by Wyclef Jean and Jerry 'Wonder' Duplessis;

The Killer Within, directed by Macky Alston;

Kurt Cobain About a Son, directed by AJ Schnack;

Office Tigers, directed by Liz Mermin;

The Prisoner or: How I Planned to Kill Tony Blair, directed by Michael Tucker and Petra Epperlein;

Sari's Mother, directed by James Longley,, nominated for the 2007 Academy Awards for Documentary Short

Shame, directed by Mohammed Naqvi, featuring Mukhtaran Bibi;

...So Goes the Nation, directed by James D. Stern and Adam Del Deo

the international premieres of...

Shot in the Dark, directed by Adrian Grenier;

Summercamp!, directed by Bradley Beesley and Sarah Price

and the North American premieres of...

Iran: A Cinematographic Revolution, directed by Nader Takmil Homayoun;

My Life as a Terrorist: The Story of Hans-Joachim Klein, directed by Alexander Oey;

The Pervert's Guide to Cinema, directed by Sophie Fiennes, featuring Slavoj Zizek;

The U.S. vs. John Lennon, directed by David Leaf and John Scheinfeld

Under TIFF's Mavericks section, Powers programmed:

- the first sneak preview clips of Sicko in a conversation between Michael Moore and Larry Charles;

- a conversation with Bollywood superstars Amitabh Bachchan, Shahrukh Khan, and director Karan Johar, moderated by Suketu Mehta;

- a conversation between John Waters and John Cameron Mitchell.