Biography
Dr. Garrett E.B. Thompson has worked as a Film and TV producer since graduating with an MFA in Film and Television Production and a Ph.D. in Film Critical Studies (with an emphasis in African American Cinema and Hip Hop Culture) from The University of Southern California's School of Cinematic Arts. Thompson studied under the advisement of Dr. Todd "Notorious Ph.D." Boyd (author of "Young, Black, Rich & Famous" and "The New H.N.I.C.").
Thompson is an alumnus of Film Independent's Project Involve Program and his short films have screened at several film festivals including the Cannes International Film Festival. His short films have also received several awards including, a Director's Guild of America Award, special selection in the Showtime Network's Black Filmmakers Showcase, a Melvin Van Peebles Award, and two College Television Awards from the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences Foundation (2004, 2010).
Over Thompson's professional producing career, he's amassed a diverse resume of non-scripted television shows, narrative and documentary feature films, commercials, music videos, and brand spotlights, for a client list including: CBS, HBO Max, Disney, Disney +, American Idol, Nickelodeon, Snapchat Studios, Spike TV, Paramount Network, MTV, NBC Universal, Coca-Cola, Monster Energy, Cheerios, AT&T, Trojan, American Eagle, J.W. Marriott, Rumble, DiGiorno Pizza, Hot Wheels, Gain, VPNhub, AD Week NYC, Cadillac, and Fisker Automotive.
In 2022, Thompson produced the documentary short film "Prom Night Flex," one of five international film projects selected for the Hot Docs + Netflix sponsored, "It's Funny Because It's True" emerging filmmaker program. The five projects represented Canada, the USA, UK, Poland, and Mexico, and premiered on Netflix's social media. In 2025, he produced the short film "AVA," created as part of the NAACP's "Climate in Color: Reframing Our Future" initiative, focusing on environmental and climate justice. The film premiered during the New York Climate Week.
Thompson has produced the 20th Season of "American Idol" (2022), the HBO Max Documentary "Beanie Mania" (2021), CBS' "The World's Best" (2019), Paramount Network's "Lip Sync Battle Live: A Michael Jackson Celebration (2018)," starring Neil Patrick Harris, Taraji P. Henson, Hailee Steinfeld, and Laverne Cox, Disney's "Disney Fam Jam" (2020), MTV's "SafeWord" (2017 and 2018), and the feature documentary film "A Little Hope For Chicago," world premiering at the Dances With Films Festival in Los Angeles, CA (2024). Thompson also worked as a Segment Director on the UK Royal Television Society's 2024 Best Arts Documentary Film, "Fight The Power: How Hip Hop Changed The World" presented by Hip Hop legend Chuck D. Most recently, Thompson produced Andscape's narrative feature film "STAY" starring Megalyn Echikunwoke ("Night School", "Step Sisters") and Mo McRae ("The First Purge", "Sons of Anarchy"). STAY released on Hulu on Oct 8, 2025 as part of the platform's coveted Huluween slate.
In 2024, Thompson launched a production services company called Turnkey Studios, which in a short time has provided producing services for Snapchat Studios, NYX Cosmetic's Beauty Bestie, Nike, Coke, Smartly, and the 2025 Sundance Film Festival's Narrative Feature Film Special Jury Award Winner for Best Ensemble Cast, "Plainclothes" starring Tom Blyth ("The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes") and Russel Tovey ("Feud: Capote vs. The Swans").
In 2025 Thompson was selected for Netflix's Non-Fiction Producing Fellowship program, where he worked for a year with the award-winning production company Boardwalk Pictures ("Fit For TV," "Chef's Table," "Cheer"). Thompson has also worked as an adjunct professor at the University of Southern California, teaching African American Cinema and presented media talks at numerous universities, conferences, and programs across the country.
