Thom Andersen has resided in Los Angeles for the majority of his life. During the 1960s, he created a series of short films, including Melting, which premiered in 1965, Olivia's Place, released in 1966, and another film, co-directed with Malcolm Brodwick, in 1967.
In 1974, Andersen completed Eadweard Muybridge, Zoopraxographer, a comprehensive documentary exploring Muybridge's groundbreaking photographic work. Almost three decades later, in 1995, he collaborated with Noël Burch to produce Red Hollywood, a thought-provoking videotape that delves into the filmography of individuals affected by the Hollywood Blacklist.
Their work on the history of the Blacklist also led to the publication of a book, Les Communistes de Hollywood: Autre chose que des martyrs, in 1994. In 2003, Andersen released Los Angeles Plays Itself, a captivating videotape that examines the representation of Los Angeles in films. This documentary earned the National Film Board of Canada Award for Best Documentary Feature at the 2003 Vancouver International Film Festival, and it was voted the best documentary of 2004 in the Village Voice Film Critics' Poll.
Throughout his career, Andersen has also shared his expertise by teaching film composition at the California Institute of the Arts, a position he has held since 1987.
