TOM MARAIS SASC

BIOGRAPHY

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Tom Marais, SASC, is an internationally recognized, South African cinematographer, above and below water.  After 23 years in the industry, he still maintains his love affair with visual storytelling.

 

Tom is always up for a challenge and prides himself on being flexible. Part of his creative process is finding the right look and feel for each distinctive narrative, while working closely with the rest of the creative team, every step of the way.

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With 27 feature films and 21 tv series under his belt, his massive body of work is available on numerous platforms, including Netflix, M-Net and Showmax.  He collaborates frequently with directors Donovan Marsh  (Hunter Killer, i am ALL GIRLS), Zee Ntuli  (Hard To Get, Reyka), Alex Yazbek (DAM), Ivan Botha (Stroomop, Blindelings) and production company Quizzical Pictures (Reyka, Savage Beauty).

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Career highlights include his continued collaboration with writer/director Donovan Marsh. Filming with Vikings director Ciaran Donnelly. Framing and lighting Oscar-winning actors such as Gary Oldman, and Brendan Fraser, and working with other international stars such as Gerard Butler, Common, Kim Engelbrecht, Iain Glen, Elena Anaya, Linda Cardellini, and Tom Welling.

 

He will never forget seeing the USS Texas (SSN-775) submarine rise in the waters of Pearl Harbour, Hawaii, trekking with the Masai through rural Kenya on a UN Documentary, and sharing a stage with the late, great Lucky Dube performing to a 100k+ crowd in Uganda.

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Tom resides in Johannesburg, South Africa, with his commissioning executive wife, Lucia Meyer-Marais and their twin children.