Winner: Best Philosophical Film - July 2021 Edition
BIO
DEANE THOMAS
WRITER & PRODUCER
DEANE THOMAS
Deane Thomas is a leader, philanthropist and a truly global citizen with a wide understanding of various cultures and perspectives.
He is also a published author and avid blogger. Through his experiences, he has developed excellent communicative skills and is able to assess other people and their needs very effectively. Originated in the U.K., his English is very clear; he also speaks fluent Croatian, Serbian and Spanish and has basic understanding of French.
Deane created True Tesla Technologies (UK) Limited in 2014, and has been assisting innovator Tomislav Tesla on a journey to commercialising his IPR. In August 2019, True Tesla Technologies (Mauritius) Limited was incorporated in Mauritius to begin the commercialisation of several technologies.
Deane is a superb and enthusiastic problem solver and project manager, highly passionate about the environment and issues we all face in today’s world. He has extensive corporate experience and is a loving, caring family man and father to 6 amazing children.
This combination enables Deane to negotiate in a very diverse range of situations with a myriad people from varying backgrounds. Growth through connecting with genuinely positive people and building networks, technologies and business models that benefit humanity and Earth’s ecosystems describe exactly Deane’s and his colleagues’ at True Tesla Technologies direction.
Deane and the co-founders of True Tesla Technologies are focused on delivering cutting-edge green and blue energy technologies that harmonise with their local environment as well as producing record-breaking amounts of usable and sustainable energy.
These technologies have the ability to provide energy for the whole planet without the need to remove precious resources from the land as they are built largely using local and natural materials.
A New Era of Tesla has been born. We are only here for a short time, it matters what we do today!
INTERVIEW
Hello Deane Thomas, thank you for having us. What made you decide to share the story of your adventures with the world?
I was researching the history of electricity in Mauritius during the restrictions in early 2020.
I discovered the fascinating similarities between myself, Nikola Tesla and Amode Ibrahim Atchia. Then whilst taking a taxi to an important meeting with the electricity board in Mauritius, the driver told me he was a film director. We agreed then to elaborate the story, and voilà, we made the film.
How soon along your journey did the idea of a film come up, and how did you meet Sada Rajiah and Desire Prevost, the directors?
The journey is an eternity to be honest, but when all the universal signs appear physically I seized the moment. Shortly after I met him, Sada introduced me to his team, and immediately we began to create the foundations of the film.
Three additional Writers are credited, could you tell us a bit more about your writing process, about writing "collectively", and how that shaped the story as we see it on screen?
Having the additional writers ensured we had an authentic sense of the story. We had to factor cultural impacts of the story, as well as the different communities. It was a great combination where our joint efforts produced an incredible storyline.
How long did it take your team to complete the film, was it complex and if so, in what aspects? Was there a lot of research involved? A lot of scouting?
We only took a couple of months to complete the shoot, the most arduous aspect was getting the permits from authorities. With the support of the Mauritius Film Development Corporation, we were able to navigate this process. Walking the gardens of the Presidential Estate was quite surreal, knowing that it was the first building to receive electricity in 1906.
Our research was fortunately first-hand information from descendants of both Atchia and Tesla. True facts are precious gems of information, that were intertwined with the story. Obtaining an original recording of Swami Vivekananda from 1896 added authenticity to our storyline.
The story taps into notions of destiny, synchronicity and the like. It leaves the viewer with an intense impression that "life is larger than life." Would you care to expand on the different steps you had to take to translate your story into moving images?
Life is larger than life, and one of the important aspects of history is the story told.
The story highlights the iconic characters of Nikola Tesla, Mark Twain, Gandhi and Swami Vivekananda who, through their work, contributed to the way we live today. We often forget the values of these icons, who were pioneers at the time, and remain forever embedded in our consciousness.
I had to understand the values of their work and embrace it; after all, these are big footsteps to follow. The story continues in real life today, and no doubt leads to a sequel being made in 2022!
What were the greatest challenges you and your collaborators had to face during the making of the film?
Whilst we had little official validation of the facts, due to lack of historical records, we were able to complete the story with information from descendants. Working with the family, who appeared in the film itself, added a new dimension.
The final message in "Three Wise Men" is one of hope. Beautiful, and inspiring. Do you feel that enough people are focusing on positive solutions? What's your take on where we're at as a species?
Hope is a nice word, but I prefer to believe our actions dispel hope and demonstrate, at a higher level, our understanding of information.
Today’s world is full of solutions, but these require action, that all begins with each of us as individuals. We are living in a world that has lost focus, due to the rise of large international corporations who dominate our lives.
I am certain there are others like me who have transformed their lives, and are now applying this wisdom in everyday life. It has been necessary to study what we have done as a species in the last 120 years, since the industrial revolution. These factors are crucial to determining where we are going.
I do know that there are tremendous lessons we can apply to our lives and values that will trickle into the outside world. This is not the first time we have faced such crisis. Today however, it is time for us to be true human beings and remember that we are all one.
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