Biography

Tommy Franklin is a filmmaker, writer, and producer. His documentary You Don’t Know My Name received support from Sundance, ITVS, Firelight Media, Ford Foundation, Catapult Film Fund, The Marshall Project, The Just Trust, Jerome Foundation, InMaat Foundation, Perspective Fund, and many others. Tommy developed his artistic practice during fellowships with Film Independent, Firelight Doc Lab, CNN, Kartemquin, BAVC, Duke University Center for Documentary Studies, Center for Art & Advocacy, True/False Film Fest, and Big Sky Pitch. He was shortlisted for the 2025 Creative Capital Award. He continues that growth in the Jerome Hill Artists 2026-2028 Fellowship. Franklin’s one hour drama pilot Intrepid was a finalist for 2021’s Sundance Episodic Lab, and he was a 2022 Sundance BIPOC Mentorship Program Mentee. Tommy made four narrative short films. He collaborates in grassroots organizing communities to produce nonfiction content. A survivor of incarceration (born in prison and having served time in adulthood), Franklin works along creative culture lines to radically reimagine power structures, focusing on Black liberation. He’s sure he wants to do this.