With his signature bold and visionary style, R.T. Thorne is a unique talent who has come into his own of late.
He started his career by being one of the most sought-after music video directors in Canada, transitioned to directing and producing television series, and is now on the brink of presenting his first feature film.
Hailed as one of 5 to Watch by Playback in 2016, Thorne has substantially added to his resume since, becoming chair of the Directors Guild of Canada BIPOC members committee, driving The Porter (Inferno Pictures, Sphere Media) as director and executive producer, and creating Utopia Falls (Sonar Entertainment).
CBC original The Porter became one of the Canadian Screen Awards’ (CSAs) most-awarded shows in the ceremony’s history, receiving 12 trophies. It’s a true rebellion story about “…the people that lived in those communities, how driven they were to change their lives, and the lives of all of us who stand on their shoulders today,” Thorne tells Playback about the critically acclaimed series from co-creators Arnold Pinnock and Bruce Ramsay. “It’s not a history lesson, it’s a story of ambition.”
Despite the honours and ambition, The Porter ended after only a single season, which CBC credited to a lack of a coproduction partner. But, with an award-winning series now under his belt, Thorne has set his sights on film next. “I love TV,” he admits, “but, like almost every director, I have a huge appreciation for cinema.”
Cue the post-apocalyptic thriller 40 Acres. Thorne developed and worked with producer Lora Campbell, as well as writer Glenn Taylor, to realize the project. “I’m a big believer in finding the right version of the story to tell,” says Thorne. “I’d rather put the work in script-wise to get it to the film I want to see rather than the film we could scrape together.”
The origins of 40 Acres, a project approaching its sixth year, were inspired by our turbulent times. “At the time,” he recalls, “I felt the world moving into a darker space – it felt like we were seeing a Black person being murdered by police every week. It made me question the world my kids would grow up in and whether I was equipped to provide for and protect them.”
He also found inspiration in his Alberta childhood, recalling how critical it was for communities to have a symbiotic relationship with the land. Family is central to the 40 Acres story, and Thorne was intent on featuring a blended one he had never seen on film before, citing the shared history of cooperation, kinship and shared trauma between Indigenous and Black communities.
In 2019, Taj Critchlow boarded the film and he and Thorne approached writer-producer Jennifer Holness about producing the project. “We sought out Jennifer for her decades of experience in the Canadian film market and she really helped to usher the project into a new era. The Canadian film system hasn’t supported a lot of Black filmmakers over the years and even less so outside of micro-budget levels. Jen is a veteran at getting people to see a vision and tapping into system money,” says Thorne.
“We financed it entirely out of Canada, which took a few years, and some great early support from Telefilm, Northern Ontario Heritage Fund Corporation, Ontario Creates, and Mongrel Media, among others,” he adds.
“The script needed a lot of development, but I was immediately attracted to the story,” says Holness. She saw her role as being to “manage that vision because it is expensive and big – [which was both] a blessing and a challenge.”
As for Thorne’s journey, “He’s fulfilling the potential of one to watch from back in 2016. Think about where he’s come from since then — producer of a giant series and an incredible feature film that I can’t wait to bring to the world with him.”
A changemaker in the industry, Thorne also led the DGC’s first membership survey, released last year. He believes that most of the membership is supportive of equity and representation, and the survey is a good starting point that “gave us a snapshot so we can see where we need to do more work — whether that’s training, outreach or support for all our incredibly diverse members.”
When asked for his highlights for the year, Thorne says “the birth of my baby boy and presenting The Porter to the world alongside my dear friend Charles Officer. To have the incredible reception, an Emmy nomination and 12 CSAs, I couldn’t be more proud of the cast, crew and family that worked so hard to bring that dream to life.” Not one to shy away from his music video roots, he also worked with Drake, DJ Khaled and Lil Baby, and was nominated for an MTV Video Music Award.
As for the coming year? “I’ve been developing a couple of TV series,” he says, “but I’m looking forward to living in 40 Acres for the next while and embracing the process. I’ve been waiting to share this story for over half a decade, I want to spend as much time in this world as I can.”
This story originally appeared in Playback‘s Winter 2023 issue