ABOUT

Tom’s body of work as a producer & director spans 30 years. His personal films are renowned for their distinctive observational story-telling style and closeness to the subjects.

Tom Zubrycki is the son of a Polish immigrant family who settled in Canberra in 1955. After completing a Bachelor of Science at the ANU he moved to Sydney where he worked as a Science and Maths teacher before enrolling in a masters degree at UNSW in Sociology.

In early 1970’s Tom was a leading participant in the video access movement before starting on his first film WATERLOO (1981), an historical account of a battle by residents against redevelopment of their inner Sydney suburb. This was soon followed by KEMIRA - DIARY OF A STRIKE(1984) and FRIENDS AND ENEMIES (1986).

In the 1990’s he turned his attention to migrant and refugee stories. BILLAL (1995) traced the impact on the life of Lebanese family disrupted by a racially motivated attack. HOMELANDS (1992) told the story of a refugee family torn apart by their conflicting desire to return to their homeland. In the course of making these films Tom evolved a distinctive engaged observational story-telling style marked by an ability to get close to his subjects.

After a short stint as commissioning editor at SBS in 1996, Tom returned to filmmaking.  His documentaries include the highly regarded THE DIPLOMAT (2000) about East Timorese independence leader Jose Ramos Horta, and MOLLY & MOBARAK (2003) a story exploring the friendship between an Afghan asylum-seeker and a young woman in a country town. His more recent work includes THE HUNGRY TIDE (2011) about climate change in the Pacific nation of Kiribati, and HOPE ROAD (2017)  the story of a former South Sudanese refugee who sets out to build a school back in his village with a group of dedicated Aussie supporters.

As well as making his own films Tom has produced and mentored several early career writer/directors, many of them First Nation. The documentaries

include STOLEN GENERATIONS (2000). GULPILLIL - ONE RED BLOOD (2002), MAD MORRO (2009), THE PANTHER WITHIN (2006), and TEACH A MAN TO FISH (2018).

All up Tom has produced and/or directed more than 36 documentaries, several of which have received awards including AACTA’s for Best Documentary (KEMIRA - DIARY OF A STRIKE, and THE DIPLOMAT) and an International Emmy for EXILE IN SARAJEVO. His films have screened in film festivals around the world.

In 2009 Tom was presented with The Cecil Holmes Award for his ongoing career support for directors. In 2010 he received the Stanley Hawes Award in recognition of outstanding contribution to documentary filmmaking in Australia.

Tom has served on the  board of the Australian Directors Guild, ASDACS, Metro Screen, the program committee of OZDOX – the Australian Documentary Forum, and is a member of the Sydney Film Festival film advisory panel. Tom taught documentary for 10 years at the University of Technology, Sydney and also taught master-classes in documentary at Australian Film, Television and Radio School.

In 2022 Tom and colleague John Hughes jointly directed and produced SENSES OF CINEMA - about the history of the filmmaker co-operatives in Sydney and Melbourne, the passionate individuals who moved through them and the powerfully independent films they made. The film, 10 years in production, premiered at the Melbourne International Film Festival and won the Critics Circle of Australia prize for Best Documentary.

In 2023 Tom’s completed 3 films as producer: THE CARNIVAL, KINDRED and MEMORY FILM - A FILMMAKER’S DIARY. He is currently in development on new projects.