UA Senior’s Film Selected for Screening at Cannes Film Festival

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — University of Alabama telecommunication and film student Michael Thomas will enjoy an international spotlight when his short film “Traces” screens at the Cannes Film Festival this summer.

Thomas, a senior from Birmingham, originally created the film for UA’s Campus MovieFest, where it won a Jury Award. The film tells the story of a young boy searching for his mother after a storm.

“My passion is cinematography,” Thomas said. “I love visuals, painting with light, conveying a story through imagery. I love directing, but my passion is cinematography.”

Dr. Rachel Raimist, an associate professor of telecommunication and film, said Thomas’s inclusion at Cannes was well deserved. Her children Joseph and Tiana also appeared in the short film.

“Michael shows extraordinary passion, focus and dedication to learning his craft,” Raimist said. “He has taken advantage of many of the opportunities as a TCF student and has a very bright future ahead of him.”

Other crew members included Anna Marie Odom (human development, Huntsville), composer; Tanner Lee Robbins (telecommunication and film, Birmingham), gaffer; Stephen Thomason (telecommunication and film, Savannah, Ga.), gaffer; Anthony Baroody (mechanical engineering, Birmingham), gaffer; Lauren Rossi (telecommunication and film and theater, Coral Springs, Fla.), production designer; Andrew Sbrissa (marketing, Birmingham), gaffer; Katie Tygielski (telecommunication and film, Madison), gaffer; Patrick Maddox (telecommunication and film, Birmingham), composer; Austin Glenn Woods (music education/instrumental music, Florence), composer; Michael Ciulla (accounting, Birmingham), actor; Paula DiBenedetto (music therapy, Hoover), actor; Emily Higginbotham (dance, Laurel, Miss.), actor; Rachael Galbreath (communication studies, Birmingham), actor; and Tiana Raimist-Carter (pre-major studies, Northport), actor.

Thomas plans to pursue his Master of Fine Arts at UCLA after graduating from UA in May.