Kate Thompson-Gorry
Photography was my first love. As a teenager, I was always behind the lens, capturing the world around me. This passion led me to study history and politics at Bradford University with dreams of becoming a photojournalist. However, life had other plans. It was in Bradford, a vibrant town in northern England, that I discovered the true power of storytelling. While working with a local film company on a series of short documentaries with the Pakistani migrant community, I realised the medium has the unique ability to connect people, transcending boundaries and cultures. On moving to Paris to attend film school, I received a student grant to make my first documentary, Nir Deshika, which delved into the lives of women filmmakers in India. This experience was both humbling and profoundly inspiring, reinforcing my belief that personal stories often carry the deepest universal truths.
Today, I am driven by a passion for crafting character-driven stories with compelling narrative arcs – stories that resonate as both authentic and deeply human. My focus is on inspirational life stories that strive to spark reflection and hopefully encourage viewers to see the world through a more hopeful lens.
FORMAL BIO
Kate Thompson-Gorry is an award-winning documentary filmmaker known for exploring global human stories with authenticity, bringing to light diminishing cultures often linked to larger global issues. As a factual author for primetime television, Kate enjoys developing character-based stories with strong narrative arcs that resonate with viewers as both authentic and universal. Kate most recently directed an adventure led by Paralympian world champion swimmer Théo Curin and TV host Ismaël Khelifa,created that was proved by France Télévisions in celebration of the Paris 2024 Paralympic Games. Other credits the Tea Master, Dare to Dream – Zip Zap Circus, and A Silent Revolution: Women in Science in Africa. From the Bushmen of the Kalahari to Japan’s last pearl divers, Kate seeks out strong characters whose personal stories resonate universally. A storyteller at heart, Kate sharpened her writing by attending Robert McKee’s Masterclass and studying screenwriting under the guidance of Julie Ponsonnet. As a natural continuity to her documentary work, KTG’s corporate work includes advocacy pieces and social impact films for International brands and World Organisations such as LVMH, Danone, L’Oréal, Arkéma, Suez, Padding Africa, the World Innovation Summit for Education and the UNHCR.
Kate is currently in development on an original project with Joann Sfar’s Magical Society and is writing a narrative script in collaboration with the Ju|’hoansi Bushmen of the North-East fo Namibia.
Kate lives between Paris and Cape Town.
