Thomas Comick '19 is a sophomore pursuing a Bachelor of Fine Arts in filmmaking at the University of North Carolina School of the Arts. "I'm The Best," a short film directed by Thomas and Amelia Waldeck, recently won Best Overall Film at Greensboro's 48-Hour Film Festival. They were also awarded Best Actress, Best SFX, and Best Creature, and an Honorable Mention for Best Directing. Thomas and Amelia will travel to Seattle this month to screen their film at Filmapalooza, the international film festival and filmmaking conference of the 48 Hour Film Project. If they win in Seattle, "I'm The Best" will be showcased in the "Short Film Corner" at the 78th Cannes Film Festival in May.

Thomas graciously agreed to chatting with us following his success at the 48-hour film festival. In preparation for our time with him, we visited his professional website to learn more about his work and passion. This paragraph stood out to us:

"My goal is to use my talents to create meaningful and thought-provoking work that can educate and enlighten audiences, ultimately leading to a better understanding and acceptance of our shared humanity and culture. I want to make works that can grow and I believe that cinema, in particular, has the ability to touch people on a personal level and evoke empathy and understanding. Through my work, I aim to create a space for dialogue and reflection, encouraging people to question their own beliefs and see the world from a different point of view. I hope to create work that is marking to the audience, and leaves them thinking and dissecting what they have seen."

Thomas, who began his Montessori education as a Toddler, met with us for 30 minutes via FaceTime on Monday, February 10, 2025, the morning after Superbowl LIX. Here's our interview, which has been edited for length and clarity.

GMS: Congratulations on your success at the 48 Hour Film Horror Project, and thanks for taking time to catch up with us. Before we get started as a filmmaker, were there any Superbowl ads you liked last night?

TC: I liked the Nike ad. It stood out to me. Nike always does something interesting with their ads because they have so much money and resources to make something really crazy. I liked that it was black and white and featured a lot of different female athletes. I thought it was really cool that they did that. I really liked the “When Harry Met Sally” one. We had just watched the movie the night before, so it was funny to see that.  

GMS: Your "About Me" page is amazing. Are the references to Costa Rica and film camp your eighth grade trip to Costa Rica and summer camp at GMS, respectively?

TC: Yes they are those GMS experiences. And thank you so much. I worked hard on that page.

GMS: It’s written beautifully, and your hard work shows. How did the film camp with then faculty member, Jonathan McLean, prepare you for your work today?

TC: The film camps I did over the summer really taught me everything film related. Each summer we wrote the film, shot it, edited it, and premiered it within a month. It was jam-packed. It was stressful but really, really fun. It was a huge learning experience that has stayed with me. 

GMS: In addition to what you learned during film camp at GMS, what other elements of your Montessori education help you in your filmmaking?

TC: Working well with others, because it’s all about community and doing things for other people. There are so many events when you’re all together. The social aspect teaches you to interact with other people. In the classroom, the peace table helps you learn how to talk to people face to face when a problem arises. If you’re on set and something goes wrong, it’s good to talk to someone, address it, and move forward, instead of brushing it under the rug or holding resentment.

GMS: Who were your favorite GMS teachers?

TC: Cathy Moses, Doug Williams, Jonathan McLean, Cynthia Kiddy, and Isabelle Bangham. John Archambault, too. He’s a good teacher. 

GMS: What were some of your favorite GMS traditions?

TC: I loved going on field trips every year. It kinda sucks when you go to high school and college and it’s done. I don’t know if they still do this, but on Friday’s we did careers. I loved that. It was great.

GMS: Yes, the Junior High students still enjoy participating in various careers each Friday as part of their microeconomy work. What did you like in particular about your microeconomy careers?

TC: I really loved being able to try out different jobs, like finance. My favorite thing was being in the kitchen. I loved cooking. Matt was the the Culinary Arts teachers when I was in seventh grade. He was a really good teacher, and he taught me a lot about cooking. I still cook a lot to this day.

TC: Try to engage in as much as possible and follow your interests. Learn as much as you can while you’re there and the people are really nurturing. Even if you’re not great at something, people will still encourage you and make you feel good about it. For instance, if you’re interested in sports, just play. There are no tryouts or anything. They know students are playing different sports for the first time, and the adults work with you. They give you time to play. It is not a toxic environment where people make fun of you if you're bad. It's really the opposite.

GMS: What's a fun fact about you unrelated to GMS?

TC: I speak French. I also flew a plane once. I was with a friend from GMS and we were doing a video for class in middle school. His grandfather had this little plane. We were shooting some stuff, and then we went up in the plane. He let me fly it for a second.

GMS: It seems like film has always led to new experiences for you. What are other experiences filmmaking has given you that you would not have had otherwise?

TC: Being able to act with Zooey Deschanel over the summer. I started doing acting class after having done film camp. I wasn’t happy with how I was acting. Through acting class I ended up getting an agent, so I have been able to audition for a bunch of stuff. I still audition for stuff to this day.

GMS: That's so cool. Most of us probably know Ms. Deschanel from her role as Jovie in "Elf" or Jess Day in "New Girl." Acting with her is an accomplishment, no doubt. What are some other accomplishments you've had since graduating from GMS?

TC: Amelia and I participated in another 48-hour film festival movie last summer and won the audience award. That one was really fun.

I also took an experiential films class and a directing class in the same semester. I was doing a video every week for one of those classes. I did this "Dream Scene" short film for my first directing class, and it ended up winning UNCSA's Ambrosia Film Festival. For a month following the festival, my "Dream Scene" was screened before every showing of the feature film "Problemista" at a/perture cinema in Winston-Salem.

I am also proud of getting all As in high school, which was a goal I set from the beginning. Making all A's, especially as an International Baccalaureate (IB) student, was really hard and a huge achievement. I was also very proud of making the varsity soccer team.

GMS: It's clear your work ethic took you far at Grimsley, where you went to high school, and continues to propel you to success at UNCSA. What does future success look like for you? Where do you see yourself in five to 10 years?

TC: I hope to be living in Los Angeles or New York and directing and writing. I ten years, I hope to have one big, feature film that will have gone to a major festival and help me get established. I hope to have a career – where I can actually be making making money doing it – allowing me to work full-time on just film stuff.

GMS: Thank you so much, Thomas. Good luck in Seattle, and please stay in touch!