Tom Lawes

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For the cricketer, see Tom Lawes (cricketer).
Thomas Lawes
Born (1971-08-01) 1 August 1971 (age 52)
Birmingham, England
Occupations
  • Film director
  • producer
  • composer
Years active1993–present
Known forOwner and renovator of The Electric

Thomas Lawes (born 1 August 1971) is an English film director, music composer, and entrepreneur. He is best known for renovating and owning The Electric cinema in Birmingham, England, the oldest known working cinema in the United Kingdom. Lawes composed the soundtrack for the BBC television series All Quiet on the Preston Front (1994–1997), co-directed the 1998 film Demagogue, and directed the 2011 documentary film The Last Projectionist.

Career[edit]

Lawes was born in Birmingham, England, and attended Handsworth Grammar School.[1] At age 19, after working as a roadie for the rock band Gunfire Dance,[2][3] Lawes began creating low-budget horror films shot on camcorder.[4] In 1993, aged 22, he was hired by the BBC to compose the soundtrack to the BBC comedy drama television series All Quiet on the Preston Front.[5] Lawes made his feature film directorial debut with the 1998 film Demagogue, which he co-directed with Adam Trotman.

In 2004 Lawes purchased the then-derelict Electric cinema in Birmingham, the oldest known working cinema in the country.[6] Lawes then initiated a total renovation of the building, restoring it to its 1930s Art Deco aesthetic.[7] Following the £250,000 renovations, the cinema, which had closed in December 2003, re-opened for business in December 2004.[7]

Lawes is also the musical director of The Electric Cinema Film Orchestra, the UK's first in-house film orchestra.[8]

In 2009, the centenary year of the original opening of The Electric,[6] Lawes was congratulated in the House of Commons for his work in restoring the cinema.[9] In 2011 Lawes directed and produced the feature-length documentary The Last Projectionist, a film charting the history of independent cinema in the UK. The film was named BBC Radio 5 Live's Film of the Week by Mark Kermode.[10] The film won awards, including "Best Documentary" at the Cambridge Film Festival.[11] In 2010 the British Film Institute selected The Last Projectionist to be included in its permanent archive collection.[12] Lawes also directed a series of short documentaries Southside Stories which in 2012 won two Royal Television Society (Midlands) Award for Best Promotional Programme and Best Craft.[13]

Filmography[edit]

Year Film Director Producer Composer Editor Notes Ref(s)
1994 Rhino Bitch Co-director Co-producer Yes Short film; also actor and post-production sound [14]
1998 Demagogue Co-director Yes
2003 The Living Love the Dead! Video documentary; appears as self [14]
2011 The Last Projectionist Yes Yes Yes Yes Also cinematographer and sound mixer [12]
2014 3 Sides of the Coin Yes Yes Yes Short film; also cinematographer
2016 Monochrome Yes Yes Yes Yes Also screenwriter and cinematographer [15][16]

Awards[edit]

  • 1998 Festival of Fantastic Films, Best Independent Feature Film Demagogue
  • 2005 O2/Arena Magazine UK Entrepreneur of the Year (Regional Winner and National Finalist)[17]
  • 2008 Creative Business Awards, Outstanding Business Development[18]
  • 2009 Birmingham Power 50[18]
  • 2011 ITN Distribution Film Festival New York, Best Documentary The Last Projectionist[11]
  • 2011 Take One Awards, Best Documentary The Last Projectionist
  • 2012 Royal Television Society (Midlands), Best Production Craft Skills[13]
  • 2012 Royal Television Society (Midlands), Best Promotional Programme Southside Stories[13]

Other work[edit]

  • Southside Business Improvement District - Board Director[19]
  • Shock and Gore Film Festival - Chair[20]
  • BBC WM - Film Critic[21]

Personal life[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^ Young, Graham (15 June 2012). "Film: It's life through a lens for Tom Lawes". Birmingham Live. Retrieved 7 June 2014.
  2. ^ "Tom & Suzie Electric". Archived from the original on 15 December 2011. Retrieved 7 June 2014.
  3. ^ Young, Graham (15 December 2009). "One hundred years of the Electric Cinema". Birmingham Post.
  4. ^ http://www.kolektomagazine.com/HTMLFiles/FilmArticles/TheElectricCinema.html [dead link]
  5. ^ "The Preston Front Page: Series 1". demon.co.uk.
  6. ^ a b "BBC News - Electric cinema celebrates its centenary". bbc.co.uk. 15 December 2009.
  7. ^ a b "BBC - Birmingham Features - Electric Cinema to re-open". bbc.co.uk.
  8. ^ https://www.bbc.co.uk/birmingham/content/articles/2007/04/10/electric_cinema_orchestra_feature.shtml[permanent dead link]
  9. ^ "Early day motion 304". UK Parliament.
  10. ^ http://blogs.birminghammail.co.uk/megamovies/2012/06/the-last-projectionist---mark.html [dead link]
  11. ^ a b http://www.penwithfilmsociety.co.uk/last-projectionist-0[permanent dead link]
  12. ^ a b "The Last Projectionist (2011)". BFI. Archived from the original on 2015-07-13.
  13. ^ a b c "Awards -- Midlands". rts.org.uk. Archived from the original on 2013-10-19.
  14. ^ a b The Living Love the Dead! (Video documentary). Nucleus Films, Anchor Bay Entertainment (UK). 2003.
  15. ^ Young, Graham (19 October 2014). "Electric Cinema owner shoots new thriller in Birmingham". Birmingham Live. Retrieved 5 October 2022.
  16. ^ H. C., Luis (15 May 2018). "[Review] 'Monochrome' Isn't Quite the Character Study It Strives to Be". Bloody Disgusting. Retrieved 5 October 2022.
  17. ^ birminghampost Administrator (17 May 2005). "Tom in the picture with award". birminghampost.
  18. ^ a b birminghampost Administrator (29 July 2009). "No.34 Tom Lawes". birminghampost.
  19. ^ "Southside BID Board". southsidebid.co.uk. Archived from the original on 2014-06-25.
  20. ^ "Shock and Gore 2012 : About Us". theelectric.co.uk.
  21. ^ "How to programme a film festival: update three « Catherine Bray". archive.today. Archived from the original on 2008-10-25.
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