Hot Shots 2022: Janine Thomas

In her 18 months at Sky UK, Janine Thomas has greenlit a string of shows across the pay-TV broadcaster’s Documentaries, Crime and Nature channels. Highlights include Arrow Pictures’ Positive: 30 Years Of HIV In Britain, Minnow’s Mother Teresa, Top Hat’s Broadcast Digital Award-nominated Look Away, Lion TV’s Arctic From Above With Liz Bonnin and Perfect Storm’s Killing Mum & Dad.

Thomas has also made her mark by nurturing off-screen talent with her launch of the Doc Shorts Initiative. The scheme offers emerging film-makers with disabilities and those from ethnic backgrounds access to a £500,000 fund to direct cinematic short films.

This builds on her track record in doc shorts as an assistant editor for documentaries at C4, where she oversaw the True Stories strand, notably Milk & Honey’s response to the death of George Floyd, Take Your Knee Off My Neck.

Earlier in her time at C4, Thomas produced the Cutting Edge directors’ scheme and put emerging film-makers in front of commissioners at Sheffield DocFest’s First Cut Pitch events.

She also commissioned a string of C4 singles documenting aspects of the black British experience, including Pulse Films’ Hair Power: Me And My Afro and Acme’s RTS-winning Damilola: The Boy Next Door.

“Despite not coming to commissioning from a traditional production or development route, Janine’s editorial instincts for documentaries are second to none,” says Sky director of documentaries and factual Poppy Dixon.

“She juggles a multi-faced and heavy workload with efficiency and grace. She is an invaluable voice in the room when discussing ideas, and always offers the most thoughtful, astute feedback on treatments and cuts. Our industry is lucky to have her.”