Tom Hardiman
Writer-director Tom Hardiman’s flair for avant-garde storytelling and technical prowess have established him as a rising star of British cinema.
His debut feature ‘Medusa Deluxe’ (A24 & Mubi) follows a group of outrageous hairdressers on the trail of a murderer in their midst. It premiered at Locarno Film Festival, going on to receive critical plaudits and multiple award nominations at festivals including BFI London Festival, Sitges Festival, Sao Paolo Festival, and the London’s Critics Circle Awards.
As a commercials director, Tom brought his cinematic eye to the acclaimed ‘Maglianic’ for Magliano, a seven-minute short film that careens through a cruise ship between an eclectic cast of shipmates for the brand’s SS26 range. Similar eccentric ensembles can be found throughout Tom’s diverse body of work, including the Prada x Vogue ‘Bar Luce’ spot, Chivas x Charles Leclerc’s ‘Se!ze’ campaign and the award-winning ‘Slender Bodies’.
Tom has also worked extensively in music videos, most recently with the iconic ‘I Love to Wear (Jean Paul Gaultier)’ for drag superstars Viktor Victoria and A Man To Pet, and previously for Peggy Gou’s hit track ‘NaNaNa’. Other videos include Joywave’s ‘Like A Kennedy’, Everything is Recorded’s ‘She Said’ (feat. Obongjayar) and Mura Masa’s ‘Live Like We’re Dancing’.
Tom first came to prominence with his short film ‘Radical Hardcore’, which went on to be selected by Lynne Ramsay for her ‘Electric Shorts’ series released via Dazed. This was followed by the psychedelic animation short ‘Pitch Black Panacea’ (BFI), a Fleischer brothers inspired journey into a science experiment gone wrong.
Currently, Tom is working between commercials, film and television, having directed the celebrated ‘Literally Who Cares?!’ (HBO) for comedian Leo Reich, and is now writing his second feature.