Trisha Morton-Thomas

Patricia Morton-Thomas, usually credited as Trisha Morton-Thomas, is an Australian writer, producer, director, and actor. Her first role in a feature film was in Radiance (1998), the first feature film by director Rachel Perkins. Morton-Thomas and Rachel Clements co-founded filmmaking company Brindle Films in Alice Springs in 2011.

Morton-Thomas^[1] grew up in Alice Springs and the remote Northern Territory.^[2] She is an Aboriginal Australian of the Anmatyerr people.^[3]

Morton-Thomas started her career at the Central Australian Aboriginal Media Association (CAAMA) in 1983, where she worked as a volunteer radio announcer and later as a cadet journalist until 1990 when she moved to Darwin to work with the Australian Broadcasting Corporation there.^[2]

In 1991 Morton-Thomas moved to Sydney with her good friend Rachel Perkins, who, she says, "dragged me along with her".^[4]

In Sydney she worked with the newly-formed Bangarra Dance Theatre as a sound technician, collaborating with David Page on the soundtrack for Bangarra's first ballet, Praying Mantis Dreaming. In 1993 she studied with Noel Tovey in the Uta Hagen acting technique at the Eora College for Performing Arts.^[2]

After finishing at Eora College, Morton-Thomas appeared in Radiance in 1998, directed by Perkins. She played the main character, Mae.^[5]

In 2004, she returned to Alice Springs and began working with CAAMA as a production manager, producer, and director for their film production slate.^[2]

In 2007 Morton-Thomas joined the newly established National Indigenous Television as a commissioning editor, later being promoted to senior commissioning editor.^[5]

She was a presenter on the ABC Television show Message Stick.^[6]

In 2011 Morton-Thomas formed Brindle Films with Rachel Clements. Based in Alice Springs, Brindle films has produced feature films, documentaries and television shows.^[7]

In 2020 it was confirmed that ABC and Brindle Films would partner to produce MaveriX, a drama TV series aimed at children and young teenagers set in the world of junior motocross, which would be the largest ever local productions for the NT. It was shot in Alice Springs in 2021^[8] and premiered on ABC Me on 1 April 2022, Morton-Thomas also appeared in the series.^[9][10]

Morton-Thomas and Rachel Clements co-produced a feature documentary about Audrey Napanangka, made by filmmaker Penelope McDonald, her son Dylan River, and others. The film took around 10 years to make and was released in 2023.^[11][12]

In 2023, Morton-Thomas appeared in the first season of Ten Pound Poms.^[13]

In May 2024 Morton-Thomas joined the production of feature film Kangaroo as cast and part of the crew.^[14] She was also announced as part of the cast for Foxtel/Binge drama High Country.^[15]

In 2024 Morton-Thomas appeared in the final season of Total Control, reprising her role from the first season.^[16]

• 2018: Winner, ATOM Awards (Australian Teachers of Media Awards), Best Indigenous Video or Website, for Occupation Native (2017)^{[citation needed]}
• 2018: Nominated, Film Critics Circle of Australia Awards, Best Documentary, for The Songkeepers (2017)^{[citation needed]}