Tom Simes
| Tom Simes | |
|---|---|
 Tom Simes.png | |
| Born | December 28, 1962 |
| 💼 Occupation | |
| Title | Screenwriter, director, producer |
| 🏅 Awards | 2017 Spirit of Capra Award |
| Twitter= | |
Tom Simes (born December 28, 1962) is a Canadian filmmaker and media school teacher. In the fall of 2005 he launched Five Stones Films with film partner Chris Funk. Their first feature film, Season of Dreams was released in 2007.
In 2009 Simes and Chris produced the fictional narrative, Run Broken Yet Brave. The film was based on a play Simes wrote about a First Nations family dealing with FASD while teaching at Nutana Collegiate in Saskatoon, Canada. The film was selected into three film festivals.
Tom worked on a solo film project in 2010 titled School on the Hill. This documentary is about Nutana Collegiate, a 100-year-old school in Saskatoon. This involved a great deal of historical research and numerous interviews of former students. Simes was teaching at the school during the production of the documentary.
Tom and Chris produced their second sports documentary, Underdogs in 2011 for Greg Jockims, the coach of the University of Saskatchewan men’s basketball team.
In 2012 Simes film partner Chris Funk stepped down from Five Stones Films due to family commitments. In the summer of 2014 Simes was introduced to the co-producers of God’s Not Dead. The co-producers liked Simes story and co-produced his fifth feature film with the working title “Grácia” in early 2015. Nise Davies helped Tom put together an amazing cast that included Chris Massoglia as Chase Morgan, Moriah Peters as Grácia, John Schneider as principal Schaub, Ben Davies as Mr. Brady and Masey Mclain as Amy. Because of Grácia[1][2][3][4] opened in 32 theaters across the USA on September 15, 2017 and was the fourth highest grossing film that weekend.[5] It has gone on to win 13 film festival awards and has a 95% rating on Rotten Tomatoes.[6]
Early life[edit]
Tom was born on December 28, 1962 in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada. His early years were spent on outdoor hockey rinks and he dreamed of playing for the Montreal Canadiens. By the time Tom reached high school he began playing other sports including football and wrestling. In his senior year he was a provincial champion and was recruited to wrestle for the University of Saskatchewan. He had a good collegiate career medaling twice at the national championships including a silver medal in 1983.
Career[edit]
Tom began his career as a teacher in 1989 teaching a chastity program in Humboldt, Saskatchewan called Teen Aid. Unbeknownst to Tom, the program was nearly out of money when he was hired so he wrote and produced a play and sold t-shirts based on the play to help subsidize his salary. For three years Tom wrote longer and more elaborate plays and sold t-shirts and sweaters along the way.
In 1992 Tom along with his wife Mish and their young son Brett moved to Saskatoon where Tom was hired on as a substitute teacher with the Saskatoon Public School Division (SPSD). At the same time he created Snow Creek Ministries with a good friend John Zubowicz and they began touring Western Canada with young people performing two plays that Tom had written; Confessions of a Cliff Diver and Boston the Hard Way. By 1999 Tom was worn out and left the ministry to focus his attention on teaching, coaching and raising his growing family.[7]
Tom created a drama troupe called the Masked Cow Skeptics in 2000 in order to develop classic plays such as Bridge to Teribithia, The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe and The Best Christmas Pageant Ever. The bonus was that he was able to direct his own kids and help them develop their acting skills. In 2001 Tom wrote and directed G Factor, the play that would eventually become Because of Grácia.[8]
Personal life[edit]
Marriage and Children[edit]
Tom met his wife Michelle (Mish) while they were both attending Bedford Road Collegiate in Saskatoon. They married in 1984 and had their first child Brett in 1990. Brooklyn followed in 1992, Bree in 1996 and Brolin in 2000. They have lived all of their married life in Saskatoon except for a year in Edmonton while Tom was attending the University of Alberta and three years in Humboldt.
Religion[edit]
Tom grew up in a Lutheran home and began attending an Apostolic Church with a wrestling teammate in tenth grade. He made a serious commitment to Christ at the age of 16 and has since attended both Baptist and Pentecostal churches.
Filmography[edit]
| Year | Title | Director | Screenwriter | Producer | Editor |
| 2007 | Season of Dreams | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| 2009 | Run Broken Yet Brave | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| 2010 | School on the Hill | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| 2011 | Underdogs | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| 2015 | A Winning Tradition | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| 2017 | Because of Grácia | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
Awards and Honors[edit]
| Nominations | Nominations | Wins |
| Run Broken Yet Brave
Winnipeg Aboriginal film Festival |
Best Picture | |
| Run Broken Yet Brave
Winnipeg Aboriginal film Festival |
Best Emerging Actor
Joseph Naytowhow |
Win |
| Run Broken Yet Brave
Winnipeg Aboriginal film Festival |
Best Emerging Actor
Ariel Yurach |
|
| Run Broken Yet Brave
International Family Film Festival |
Best Emerging Actor
Ariel Yurach |
|
| Because of Grácia
Christian Worldview Film Festival |
Fan Favorite | Runner up |
| Because of Grácia
International Christian film Festival |
Best Picture | |
| Because of Grácia
International Christian film Festival |
Best Original Score
Ben Backus |
|
| Because of Grácia
International Christian film Festival |
Best Director
Tom Simes |
|
| Because of Grácia
Lifefest Film Festival |
Best Director
Tom Simes |
Win |
| Because of Grácia
Lifefest Film Festival |
Best Actress
Moriah Peters |
Win |
| Because of Grácia
Enfoque Film Festival |
Honorable Mention | |
| Because of Grácia
Park City Film Festival |
Best Picture | Win |
| Because of Grácia
International Christian Visual Media Awards |
Best Drama Over 250 K | Bronze Award |
| Because of Grácia
International Christian Visual Media Awards |
Best Youth Film | Silver Award |
| Because of Grácia
International Christian Visual Media Awards |
Best Picture | Gold Medal |
| Because of Grácia
Mid Tennessee Film Festival |
Best Actress
Moriah Peters |
Win |
| Because of Grácia
Canadian International Faith & Family Film Festival |
Best Picture | |
| Because of Grácia
Kingdomwood Film Festival |
Best Picture | Win |
| Because of Grácia
Churches Making Movies Film Festival |
Best Actor
Chris Massoglia |
|
| Because of Grácia
Global Independent Film Awards |
Best Actor
Chris Massoglia |
Silver Medal |
| Because of Grácia
Global Independent Film Awards |
Best Actress
Moriah Peters |
Silver Medal |
| Because of Grácia
Global Independent Film Awards |
Best Supporting Actor
Owen Presland-White |
Gold Medal |
| Because of Grácia
Global Independent Film Awards |
Best Picture | Silver Medal |
References[edit]
- ↑ "Film Starring 'American Idol' Contestant Who Says She Was Mocked by Judges Gets Release Date". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 2018-11-09.
- ↑ "'Because of Grácia' combines teen flick with Christian themes". fresnobee. Retrieved 2018-11-09.
- ↑ "From homeschooler to big screen: Chris Massoglia stars in pro-life 'Because of Gracia'". LifeSiteNews. Retrieved 2018-11-09.
- ↑ "'American Idol' Moriah Peters Takes a Stand for Life". CBN News. 2017-06-18. Retrieved 2018-11-09.
- ↑ "Because of Gracia (2017) - Box Office Mojo". www.boxofficemojo.com. Retrieved 2018-04-24.
- ↑ Because of Grácia, retrieved 2018-04-24
- ↑ "Teacher-director Tom Simes releases latest film in Nashville". Saskatoon StarPhoenix. 2017-08-24. Retrieved 2018-11-09.
- ↑ "Because of Gracia to make its Saskatoon debut in April". Saskatoon StarPhoenix. 2018-03-03. Retrieved 2018-11-09.
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