Biography

Tom Zorabedian has taught film courses at URI for nearly 30 years, including: FLM 101H: Introduction to Film/Media, HPR 344: Politics and Protest in Films, HPR 344: Rebel Images in Films, HPR 344 Images of Masculinity in Films, and the Winter J-Term course, HPR 344: Experiencing Film in Rhode Island. He has also served as a faculty mentor for Honor students’ film-related senior projects.

Before coming to URI, Tom was Assistant Professor of Communication and Theatre at Rhode Island College, where he taught courses in film and television, as well as composition, interpersonal communication, and public speaking. He has also taught at Salve Regina University (Acting for the Camera) and Boston University.

Tom has worked as a film critic and as a film and video producer/writer, including a documentary on the Armenian genocide, and a live, cable TV series, Club Genius. Also, he has been an extra in numerous feature films, including Irrational Man, Mystic Pizza, Amistad, and Meet Joe Black.

Tom was co-coordinator of the URI Honors Colloquium, Moving Images, and he produced Visualizations, the URI student film competition for 13 years. He directed the first Master Class for the RI Int. Film Festival with legendary director Robert Downey, Sr. and currently serves on the RIIFF board and as a festival judge.

Tom has given numerous presentations on various film topics, such as: “Hollywood Armageddon”; “War: Film, Press, and Propaganda”; “Eating in the Dark: The Meaning of Food in Film”; “Hollywood and Social Issues in Film”; and “Film Portrayal of the Cold War: In From the Cold, A Russian-American Dialogue.”