Biography for Anna Thomas

Photo Credit: Ladye Eugenia Stewart


Family
Anna Thomas was born July 12, 1948 in Stuttgart, Germany to Polish parents who had been prisoners of war. Her family immigrated to the United States when Anna was an infant. She was raised in Michigan and California.

Thomas attended the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) studying filmmaking. She met Gregory Nava while at UCLA, where she earned an MFA in film. Thomas and Nava married in 1975, and have two children: Christopher and Theodore "Teddy". Thomas lives in Ojai, California and continues to write screenplays, fiction, and cookbooks.


Career
Thomas continues to work as a writer and filmmaker. She shares her talent and experience teaching at AFI, an educational institute focused on instructing young filmmakers in the art of narrative storytelling through film.

Thomas was co-founder of IFP West (now called Film Independent), an organization dedicated to fostering and marketing the development of independent films through Independent Film Week and other film labs, conferences, and seminars.


Books
• The Vegetarian Epicure Alfred A. Knopf, 1972. ISBN 0394717848.
• The Vegetarian Epicure, Book Two Alfred A. Knopf, 1978. ISBN 0394734157.
• From Anna's Kitchen, 1996 (UK). ISBN 0140469613
• The New Vegetarian Epicure Alfred A. Knopf, 1996. ISBN 0679765883.
• Love Soup W. W. Norton, 2009. ISBN 0393332578.

(See sidebar at right for links to Thomas' cookbooks.)


Films
The Confessions of Amans. 1973. Co-writer.
The Haunting of M. 1980. Writer. Producer. Director. Editor.
The End of August. 1982. Writer.
El Norte. 1983. Writer. Producer.
A Time of Destiny. 1988. Writer. Producer.
My Family, Mi Familia. 1995. Writer. Producer.
Frida. 2002. Writer.
American Family for PBS television one-hour drama series. Writer, 2 episodes. 2002.
Infinite Space: The Architecture of John Lautner. 2008. Producer.


Awards
Oscar, Nominated for Best Writing, Screenplay Written Directly for the Screen for El Norte

WGA, Nominated for Best Screenplay Written Directly for the Screen for El Norte

United States National Film Registry, Elected to Preserve El Norte