Thomas Kelly’s approach to filmmaking is defined by his wish to create compelling narratives experienced against visually captivating backgrounds.
A born traveller, he immerses himself fully in all cultures, driven by the aesthetic images that an explorer can chance upon in the most unexpected places.
Kelly was born and raised in Paris. After graduating from Hypokhâgne, he moved to Buenos Aires in Argentina to pursue a career in Directing at the Fundación Universidad del Cine. There he was amazed by the endless energy, culture and colors of this urban South American landscape. After 5 years, having gained fluency in both Spanish and Portuguese and enhanced his skills in filmmaking, Thomas returned to Paris.
His strong visuals are often rhythmically driven as can be seen from his work with a variety of lifestyle and fashion brands such as Giorgio Armani, YSL, Chanel, Vacheron Constantin, Maybelline, and L’Oreal Paris. Each of these projects showcases his talent in moving fluidly between brands, genres and narrative styles.
He is also extremely interested in any new technology that he can incorporate into his films to create the most poetic and sensitive aspects of the visual experience. After directing his first short film in Thailand, portraying an unusual, yet captivating American boxer, Kelly has now dedicated himself to giving more focus to the narrative aspect of commercial film making. With this approach in mind, he has completed many first class workshops at the London Film School and the National Film and Television School in England.
Today, through his work with actors, he has consolidated his narrative mindset approach and now focuses on stories with human experience at their core.